


A Sense of Purpose

by ChibiRenamon



Category: Kung Fu Panda (2008)
Genre: F/M, Kung Fu, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2008-07-14
Updated: 2016-12-11
Packaged: 2018-01-15 01:41:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 42,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1286443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChibiRenamon/pseuds/ChibiRenamon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Tai Lung's defeat, Tigress can't stop thinking about something that happened after the fight at the bridge. And when Tai Lung suddenly appears at the Jade Palace again, a confrontation seems inevitable. Eventual Tigress x Tai Lung</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Haunted

It was the most horrible pain she had felt in her entire life. Tigress, Master of her own, powerful, style of Kung Fu, gritted her teeth, trying not to scream. Tai Lung's last punch had been different than the blows they had just exchanged on the bridge; it had done _something_ to her, immobilizing her almost completely and rendering her helpless. _No!_ She struggled to get up, to move at least some part of her body. _I will NOT put myself at the mercy of this killer!_ Then, footsteps. She tried to look up, but, lying on her stomach and being unable to move her head, she could only see two feet. Still, that was enough to let her know that it was _him_. "Nghhhh..."

"Impressive, you're still conscious!" Tai Lung's smooth, arrogant voice came from somewhere above her. One of his feet moved towards her, but not to kick. Instead, it just nudged her slightly, causing her to roll onto her back. Now she was at least able to get a better look at the guy who would soon take her life. "Your friends went down after only one hit, but you... you keep fighting, even when you're unable to move anything but a single finger." He squatted next to her head and gently stroked her hand. Then he gave her a long look. "Don't worry too much. Your friends are alive, and you will live, too. I figure the crane is going to recover first, and he will most likely return you and the others to Master Shifu. And when you recover, do me a favor..." Tai Lung brought his muzzle close to her ear. "Stay out of my way." His voice dropped to a whisper. "Please."

"Ghhhhhh?" Tigress tried in vain to user her mouth, and her opponent merely sighed. Then he got up, cracked his knuckles and-

"NO!" Tigress gasped and brought up her fist to meet... nothing. She blinked, trying to figure out where she was and why she wasn't at the cliff anymore. _It's just your room,_ her inner voice told her. _Just your room at night._ "Bad dream," Tigress whispered and tried to steady her breathing. "Just a bad dream." She tried to leave it at that, tried not to think about the fact that it had been a memory she had been recalling almost every night since Tai Lung's defeat a month ago. A memory that had made her practically afraid to go to bed, even though she would never admit this to anybody.

She yawned and shook her head, knowing that she should at least try to get some more sleep. However, a quick glance out of her window told her that it was almost time to get up again. _Great. Another night with too little sleep. I only fall asleep late at night, and I wake up too early. At this rate, I'm going to-_ Another yawn. _Damn. How long until the others will start to notice something's up?_ The feline rolled her eyes. Even if they hadn't heard her groans and startled gasps almost every night, they knew her well enough to notice even the slightest change in her behavior. _And this one's becoming quite obvious. Maybe even Po knows!_ She got up to her feet and nervously groomed her fur. _Steady, girl. Your teammates are pretending that nothing is up. They're giving you the chance to get your life back in order yourself. Don't disappoint them!_

Half an hour later, after some breakfast - which Tigress barely even touched - the group around Master Shifu went to the Jade Palace's courtyard. "Training as usual," Master Shifu announced and waved at the training hall. "Crane? I want you to practice one-on-one combat with Po. You need to improve your technique when it comes to heavier targets, and your mobility will be a good challenge for Po. Mantis, Monkey and Viper? Full obstacle course. Learn from each other! Tigress?" The red panda gave her a look, and Tigress stiffened slightly. "Sweep the courtyard. It's your turn this week."

Crane cocked his head slightly - everybody knew that it was his turn. He gave her a look, then lowered his head a little bit, letting his giant hat hide his features from her. Tigress bit her lip, fighting hard to maintain a neutral expression. "Yes, Master Shifu," she finally whispered.

The chores of the Jade Palace were officially part of the training. It would have been trivial to hire somebody from the village to handle them, but Master Shifu - and before him, Master Oogway - had insisted that the students should keep their temple clean themselves. The Furious Five - and now the Dragon Warrior - didn't complain about this. After all, it meant that there would be a calmer phase in their training plans every couple of weeks. However, for as long as Tigress had been here - and having lived in the Temple for more than a decade, that was saying something - nobody had ever been ordered to do the chores out of the normal order.

"This is ridiculous," Tigress muttered, sweeping a few more leaves towards the small pile in the center of the courtyard. "He's treating me as if I'm crippled! I can run the obstacle course blindly and with both hands behind my back! I may be a bit tired, but that doesn't mean I'm any less capable of doing whatever needs to be done! So why is he making me sweep up a few leaves?"

"Master Shifu always claimed that being a warrior is more than just punching and kicking," somebody behind her commented quietly. "Easy, repetitive and monotonous tasks help greatly in clearing your mind and achieving inner balance. Or so he said, at least." A quiet chuckle.

Tigress's claws dug into the broom handle. _That voice..._ Gritting her teeth, she slowly turned around. "You!" She glared at the feline who had been standing behind her. And even though his cape, hood and walking stick had apparently provided enough of a disguise for him to get this far, she instantly recognized his face. It was the face she had seen almost every night during the last month. "YOU!" she repeated, her voice close to a roar.

"Master Tigress," Tai Lung greeted her and bowed slightly. "May I speak with Mast-" Tigress's punch hit his face before he got to finish his request. The snow leopard stumbled backwards and held up a hand. "Wait, I don't-" This time, a solid kick connected with his stomach, sending him to the ground.

Meanwhile, Tigress's mind was racing. _He haunted my dreams, and now he's beginning to haunt my waking hours, too? How did he survive, anyway? Everybody thought Po's attack had turned him into fine mist! And what does he want?_ She flexed her claws.

"Tigress, what is going on here?" Master Shifu asked sharply as he came out of the training hall, followed by her fellow warriors. Only then did he take a look at the fallen form and gasped. "Tai Lung!"

"What?" Po instantly asked. "Aw, man! How'd he survive? He should be busy sticking to the walls of half the houses in the village!" The panda groaned, and for once, Tigress fully agreed with him.

Normally, Master Shifu rarely showed any emotion other than slight annoyance. Things had improved a good bit after the defeat of Tai Lung, but most of the time, the small red panda was hard to read. At the moment, however, Tigress could clearly see a wild mix of shock, relief and surprise on his face. "You... you're alive," the Master whispered.

The snow leopard lowered his eyes. "No, Master Shifu, I am not."

Po and Viper exchanged glances. The panda mouthed the word "Zombie?" clearly enough for even Tigress to see. Crane idly slapped the back of Po's head with his right wing.

The only ones who apparently missed the brief burst of silliness were Tai Lung and Master Shifu. When the latter remained silent, his former student continued, "I did survive the Wuxi Finger Hold, but my life had already been over before that."

For what felt like an eternity, nobody spoke. Finally, Master Shifu nodded briefly. "I see." He turned towards one of the temple's buildings. "Come with me, Tai Lung. Let us talk."

"Okay, does anybody have any idea what just happened?" Mantis asked when the red panda and the snow leopard were out of sight.

"I'm a lot more interested in what is going to happen next," Viper told him and flicked her tongue nervously.

Tigress crossed her arms and frowned. "Nothing good, that's for sure."


	2. Just before the dawn

It had been a few minutes since Master Shifu and Tai Lung had disappeared into one of the buildings, but Tigress was still staring at it, as if trying to somehow look through its walls. _What are they doing?_ she asked herself and idly flexed her claws.

"You coming, Tigress?" Crane suddenly asked and tapped her shoulder.

"Huh?" the feline asked and turned to face the bird.

Crane pointed at the building containing the kitchen. "Po's making early lunch."

"Lunch?" Tigress blinked and looked at where the others had been standing minutes before. "They _left_?" she finally asked and gave the bird a glare. "Our nemesis has returned from the dead, and everybody just goes away to _eat_?"

"You forgot the part where I'm missing the appetizers," Crane pointed out. "I pulled the short straw, so I had to-"

"Are you all MAD?" Tigress cut him off and aimed a roundhouse kick at the bird's head.

The bird smartly deflected the blow with a wing and sighed. "That's exactly why we had to draw straws."

"You TRAITOR!" Tigress spat and cracked her knuckles. "Tai Lung is back at the Jade Palace, and you just LEAVE? I can't believe your lack of loyalty!" Two punches barely missed his face. "We need to be prepared! How can you-" Crane's wing moved with surprising speed and strength, hitting her throat and sending Tigress off her feet. The feline hit the ground and coughed violently, her hands roaming over her neck to check if anything was broken or damaged. When she realized that she could still breathe without making gurgling noises, she calmed down a bit. _No serious damage, but that HURT! When did Crane become so fast? He had never been so-_ She looked down at her paw. _No, he didn't become any faster. I was too slow! Too slow to even block a simple jab!_

"I don't know what is driving you, but it's barely enough to keep you on your feet." Crane whispered and used one of his legs to pull her into a sitting position. "You had very little sleep this month, _and_ you skipped breakfast. At this rate, Tai Lung could defeat you just by giving you a mean stare." Tigress opened her mouth to reply, but the bird quickly shook his head. "No objections. The next time you open your mouth, you better do it to put some food into it."

"About time, you two!" Po greeted them from the cooking area when the two warriors entered the kitchen.

"See, no blood," Mantis told Monkey as he pointed at the bird. "Pay up."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Monkey tossed his last rice ball into the insect's bowl.

Tigress gave Monkey a glare as she sat down at the table. "You were betting on me injuring Crane?" Then, remembering her friend's words, she grabbed the rice ball and shoved it into her mouth. Crane simply chuckled at the gesture.

"I was merely expressing my faith in your combat skills," Monkey told her and smirked before mimicking Master Shifu. "Tigress!" he barked, sounding a lot like her Master. "You have disappointed me! Now you must train hard until you can at least break Crane's wings!"

Tigress just rolled her eyes while everybody around her laughed, but deep down, she was relieved that her friends had decided not to make a big scene out of her behavior.

It only took Po a few minutes to serve the six helpings of noodle soup. Tigress greedily emptied her bowl, ignoring the stares her friends were giving her. "Better," she whispered and allowed herself a smile as she put down her bowl. "Ah, no, thanks!" she quickly added when Po was getting up to serve her a second helping. "Later, maybe."

A few minutes later, the others were also done, and an awkward silence filled the room.

In the end, it was Crane who voiced what everybody was thinking. "No fighting sounds. And no yelling."

"Which means they're actually talking about things," Mantis added and idly tapped his bowl with his foreleg.

Tigress frowned deeply. "But about what? Whenever he was here, he caused chaos and destruction. He even tried to kill our Master to get the Dragon Scroll! What is left to talk about? He doesn't belong here! As long as he is alive, he will try to-" She hesitated. There was a hole in her argumentation, and she had only noticed it now.

"To do what?" Po asked and shrugged. "He already got his hands onto the scroll during our fight, after all."

"And he realized that key to becoming the Dragon Warrior isn't some secret technique you can just learn to complete your training," Viper observed. "It was a fool's errand."

"Hmmmmm..." Crane stared at his bowl, apparently lost in thought. The others immediately stopped talking - it usually paid off to wait for his input. "That might actually explain his cryptic remarks earlier..."

"How so?" Viper asked and cocked her head.

"Hm? Oh!" He blinked when he realized that everybody had been looking at him. "I just..." He took a deep breath. "Remember what he said when Master Shifu saw him?"

"That his life had been over before he got into the Wuxi Finger Hold," Monkey quickly replied.

Tigress crossed her arms in front of her chest. "What does that have to do with the scroll? It's not like it killed him or anything."

"Physically, it didn't. But this quest was what drove him. You could even say it defined his entire existence. And when he realized that everything he had ever worked for in his life had been for nothing, well..."

For a while, nobody spoke. Tigress looked down at her bowl, trying desperately not to pity Tai Lung. Her more rational side knew that Crane's analysis was likely correct, but her emotional side - the side that wanted to blame Tai Lung for her month-long insomnia - was stronger. "He's still a monster!" she finally blurted out, even though she knew that she was grasping at straws. "Tai Lung is responsible for the darkest hour the Valley of Peace has witnessed!"

Somebody gently knocked at the kitchen door. "In that case, you should remember that the darkest hour is just before dawn." Master Shifu calmly wandered into the kitchen, followed by his former student.

 _Yeah. And our dawn will come once we put an end to Tai Lung's plans._ Tigress gritted her teeth. The snow leopard was looking serious, but not as aggressive as he had been on the bridge. _Of course he's not showing his true intentions when he's together with the Furious Five, the Dragon Warrior_ and _Master Shifu!_ She hid her hands under the table and let her claws spring out when they were out of Tai Lung's sight. _Just give me an excuse... a single misstep..._

"We all know that Master Oogway and I had disagreed about many of his decisions." Master Shifu spoke slowly, as if deep in thought. "Other decisions I silently approved of, even though I did not understand them."

Tigress frowned deeply. _What's he talking about? Why bring up Master Oogway now?_

"The decision to imprison Tai Lung twenty years ago fell into the second category." Even Tai Lung seemed to be surprised by this revelation, and Master Shifu simply sighed. "Yes, it had been his will not to kill you when you were lying at our feet. Even after you laid waste to the Valley of Peace and tried to attack both of us, he did not want to see you dead. I was relieved-" He took a deep breath. "-but I did not understand his reasoning. I admit I still don't." His voice was barely above a whisper now. "However," he suddenly spoke up again, "I believe that, while Master Oogway saw darkness in Tai Lung's heart, he also saw light in it. And I also believe that there are indeed no accidents." The red panda now smiled up at Tai Lung. "So when I realized that he was still alive, I-"

"Why don't you cut to the chase?" Tigress suddenly hissed and got to her feet. "Tai Lung is going to stay at the Jade Palace." The others started to protest, but she ignored them as she strode towards the door. Master Shifu gave her an irritated look, but didn't move to stop her. "Your old favorite is finally back," Tigress whispered and shoved Tai Lung out of the way before leaving the kitchen. "The only one you ever loved," she added under her breath.


	3. A rocky start

Tai Lung sighed quietly. _Okay, that could've gone better,_ he thought and let his eyes wander over the remaining fighters in the room. Aside from Master Shifu, everybody was frowning, but he was relieved to see that nobody was looking angry. _A fragile peace._

It was Master Shifu's loud sigh that made him and the others focus on the here and now again. "I had feared she'd react badly," his former - and with some luck, future - Master whispered.

"Well, to be fair, she's been acting-" Po started, but froze when the remaining members of the Furious Five shot him angry glares. "Oh, come _on_!" the panda groaned and gestured at the door. "She's cracking, and we should really tell Master-"

"I already know, Po," Master Shifu interrupted him calmly. "She has been getting little sleep recently, and her mood is becoming more and more unstable." The red panda started to pace through the kitchen. "First things first," he suddenly muttered and hopped onto the counter. "Po, a pot of tea, please?"

"Right next to you, actually," the panda replied with a light frown. "I made some early on, but with all the betting about whether Tigress would break Crane's wing, I-" He gasped and quickly covered his mouth, as if that would somehow un-say the last sentence. Monkey groaned and smacked his forehead.

"Yes, yes, wonderful," Master Shifu replied. Tai Lung wasn't sure if he was simply ignoring the implications of Po's words or if he simply wasn't surprised by them. "Now, Po, why don't you get a chair for Tai Lung?"

"Hey, I can go and grab one myself," the snow leopard quickly offered. "Still in the unused room down the-" He stopped talking when Master Shifu gave him a surprisingly stern look. _Oh, come on! We just had a long talk about trust, and now you don't even trust me to go and get a chair?_

"Po, please?" the Master simply asked again and pointed at the door. When the panda had left, Master Shifu sighed again and took a small bag out of his pocket. Within seconds, he had emptied its contents - some sort of red powder - into the pot of tea and stirred it quickly. "Po is a nice guy, but he's a very bad actor," he explained to nobody in particular. "If I want this to work, I need him to believe that nothing is wrong..."

The others exchanged worried glances, but didn't say a word. Then they looked at Tai Lung, who only shrugged. _Trust me, guys, I'm as clueless as you are!_

"Got you a chair!" Po suddenly rushed in again, pushing Tai Lung onto the chair he was holding and only then placing it - and him - at the table.

 _Okay, I admit he's strong,_ Tai Lung thought and looked down at the chair, as if to make sure that the panda had indeed just carried him with one hand.

"Hey, you want some soup?" Po quickly added and then looked at the others, as if expecting angry glares again. This time, however, none came.

"Yes, a good thought," Master Shifu said and quickly filled two bowls before Tai Lung could reply. "Here, Po, I want you to take these to Tigress. I'm sure she'll be happy to have something to eat." Without even looking, he tossed the two bowls at Po, who caught them on his arm with surprising grace. "And take this tea with you, too!" The pot of tea and two cups quickly followed the bowls, and Po was suddenly balancing quite a load on his arms. "If she's not in the training hall, just follow the claw marks and the trail of destruction." Po raised an eyebrow, but when the others just shrugged he left the room without questioning his orders.

"Now, if you'll excuse me..." Master Shifu sighed as he walked towards the door. "Once the tea did its work, I'll carry Tigress to her room so she can get twenty hours of sleep."

"...wait," Viper remarked after the red panda had left the room. "Did we really just witness Master Shifu setting Po up to drug Tigress?"

"We did," Crane replied quietly. "Understandable, though. She had been close to her limit for quite some time, and now..." The bird gave Tai Lung a dark look. Monkey, Mantis and Viper quickly joined in.

 _Wonderful,_ Tai Lung thought and tried not to sigh. _Alone in a room with four people who once fought me to the death and who will do it again if I give them a good reason._ He frowned. The last time, he had been able to beat them - more or less - easily. _But that had been when life had made some fricken sense! Now? Almost blasted to bits, a month of no training, and I just started to get my life back in order a few minutes ago! Make them angry, and the result won't be pretty. I need to charm my way out of this one._ "Look, Stripey started it, okay?"

Monkey stood up so quickly that his chair fell over and slammed a hand onto the table.

 _Ohhhhhh Tai Lung! You're sooooooo smart!_ The snow leopard smacked his forehead. "Wait, wait... that kinda came out wrong!"

"Oh, really," a voice from below muttered, and Tai Lung glanced down to see Mantis standing right in front of him on the table.

The feline frowned. Mantis was the only one of the Furious Five he hadn't fought directly. _Yeah, because he had been busy holding the bridge all by himself. Would you like to find out what his strength will do to your barely healed body?_ He slowly raised his hands in what he hoped would looked like a non-threatening way. "I'm serious, really! I just told her that the students are supposed to do the chores so that they can find balance. By the time I wanted to ask her where Master Shifu is, she lashed out!"

Viper and Crane exchanged quick glances. The bird finally shrugged, and Viper sighed. "Okay, let's assume for a moment that that's true. Master Shifu is taking care of her now, so there's little we can do but speculate, anyway. But we're still left with a few other questions in the meantime." She gave Tai Lung a meaningful look.

"Like what?" he asked, relaxing slightly as Mantis and Monkey calmed down again.

"Let's start with the way you're acting," Crane suggested and grabbed a fresh bowl and filled it with soup. "We didn't exactly have a meaningful conversation on the bridge, but what little we heard painted a slightly... different picture about you somehow."

Tai Lung frowned lightly, thinking about this one. "That's... kind of a long story, I guess," he finally replied.

"That's okay, the soup's hot, anyway," Crane remarked and smirked as he placed the bowl in front of the cat. Tai Lung chose not to comment on the fact that the bird had handled both the bowl and the soup ladle with his _feet_.

"Well... what you should first keep in mind is that I had been a student just like you before my imprisonment." He idly stirred the soup. "You know... trained most of the day, did the chores, occasionally snuck out during the night to peek into the women's bathhouse down in the village..." Monkey and Crane quickly looked away and coughed quietly. Viper just rolled her eyes and groaned. "My childhood had been about as normal as yours had been. Maybe even more normal, considering how Shifu had been more like a father to me than he had apparently been to you. Deep down, I'm just a normal kid."

"A kid who attacked his Master, who also was practically his father?" Mantis asked and gave him a look. "A kid who was considered to be so dangerous that a special prison had to be constructed just for him?"

The snow leopard let out a deep sigh. "I know, I know... I had allowed myself to become obsessed with the Dragon Scroll. Shifu's constant encouragement about how I'd _surely_ become the Dragon Warrior didn't exactly help. I pushed myself to my limit to achieve this goal, and only this goal. Master Oogway had noticed my obsession, and I only recently realized that he had been right in stopping me. But back then, I had effectively gone crazy about this. During my twenty years in that prison, I kept obsessing about the scroll and about getting even. I broke out and once again hurt the one who had given me nothing but love all these years." His claws slowly scratched the wooden table. "I wanted nothing more than the scroll... and when I finally got it... it all fell apart. The thing that drove me all those years turned out to be nothing more than some sort of convoluted philosophy lesson."

Nobody spoke for a minute. Then, Monkey crossed his arms. "Since we're at that point of the story, why don't you tell us how you survived the Wuxi Finger Hold?"

"...isn't that obvious?" Tai Lung asked, slowly snapping out of his reverie.

"Errr... no, not really," Crane replied and cocked his head. "Granted, we know very little about this move in the first place," he added sheepishly.

"Oh yeah, I forgot that Master Shifu didn't teach you any of the fun stuff!" The snow leopard allowed himself a grin and sat upright again.

"Did he teach you?" Viper asked and gave him a look.

"You _are_ aware that I'm the first student who mastered all of the thousand scrolls you can find in the Hall of Warriors, yes?" He crossed his arms. "Of course, I never tried it out. But I know how it works and how you do it. The concept is actually quite simple. You know how many parts of Kung Fu deal with using the opponent's strength against him, right? You exploit weaknesses, momentum, stuff like that." The four warriors nodded quickly. "The Wuxi Finger Hold takes this to the extreme. It uses your reserves against you. All the strength inside of you, the strength you need to attack, to block and even to just keep standing - it all is suddenly under the control of whoever performs the hold." He roughly mimicked the Wuxi Finger Hold and flexed his pinky. "And then... boom. All that energy is bursting free."

"Then how is it obvious how you survived?" Monkey asked and frowned.

"...there was almost no energy left," Crane suddenly whispered, and Tai Lung nodded grimly.

"The realization about the scroll had drained me." _Okay, that, and the fact that I had horribly crash-landed after bouncing off Po's belly. But no need to reiterate every single, embarrassing detail..._ "The only reason I hadn't collapsed already was frustration that had turned into a blind rage. And even that evaporated when I realized that I had been caught in the Wuxi Finger Hold. So by the time Po unleashed it, the blast injured me badly and threw me across half the village, but I had been alive. And some part of me still clung to life, so I dragged myself into a hiding spot while everybody celebrated my death."

He carefully studied the four fighters, half expecting a remark about his survival being a pity. However, none came. "I guess that leaves only two questions," Mantis finally started. "Why are you here now? And what deal did you make with Master Shifu?"

Tai Lung leaned back in his chair and sighed. "I grew up here. All my life, this had been my home. Everything I ever held dear is here. So I figured that this would be the best place to start my life again. To give it some sort of purpose." He placed his feet on the table, keeping it at a slight distance from the soup bowl. "Which kinda brings me to the next answer: I asked Master Shifu to accept me back as a student."

"And his answer?" Crane asked, staring straight into his eyes as if looking for any hint of a lie.

"He hasn't given me a definite answer yet," Tai Lung replied, holding the bird's gaze. "I won't do any training and I won't sleep even here. Think of it as a trial period while he makes up his mind. On the up side, it means that you won't have to do any chores for a few days at least. You know, sweeping, cleaning, cooking, stuff like that."

"Actually," Viper noted and pointed at the soup bowl with the tip of her tail, "you won't be doing much cooking, I think."

Tai Lung raised an eyebrow and finally tasted the soup. "Mhhhh! This is great! Shifu finally got a professional cook? Seriously, you guys are so lucky. Back when I was a student-"

"Actually, it's still pretty much the duty of the students to cook our meals," Monkey interrupted him and grinned when he saw Tai Lung's confused look. "Let's just say that you were defeated by a panda who spent most of his life working in his father's noodle soup restaurant."

 _Po was... a noodle soup cook?_ Tai Lung stared at the bowl, then back at the four fighters, who were giggling madly now. He knew he should feel mad about this, but then he decided to just appreciate the universe's sense of humor and laughed. Loudly.

And it felt good.


	4. Attitude

Tigress groaned quietly. _Never going to drink this much again!_ she thought and rubbed her head. Her last hangover had been after her twentieth birthday - Master Shifu had allowed her a few strong drinks in celebration of her coming of age, and she had deeply regretted it the following day. _Okay, that had actually been a worse headache than the one I got right-_ She froze. _Wait. I didn't have any alcohol yesterday!_

Moving carefully, Tigress got to her feet. _What happened? Last thing I remember was making a mess out of the training hall, and that had been way before noon!_ She glanced out of her window. _It's morning. Did I seriously sleep for almost an entire day? And how did I fall asleep in the first place? I had been full of energy - and rage - until Po came and offered me some-_ Her eyes widened. "Tea," she muttered. "Po drugged my tea!"

"No," a voice came from the corridor, and moments later, Master Shifu opened the door. " _I_ drugged your tea."

"...what?" she asked and dropped to her knees again. "Why?"

Master Shifu's eyes narrowed slightly, and Tigress immediately knew that she was in trouble. "Where should I begin?" he asked dramatically and started to pace around her. "First of all, you needed the sleep. You had been barely conscious these past few days!" She briefly considered protesting against this, but figured that it would be smarter to let him rant first. "I had tried to look away as much as possible, just like your friends. But when you blindly lashed out at Tai Lung on the courtyard-"

"ARE YOU-" Tigress snapped, but then groaned. _Ohhhhhhh, my head..._ "Are you seriously defending him?" she asked again, this time lowering her voice slightly to avoid worsening her headache.

"No, I'm not," Master Shifu replied calmly. "But I'm also not damning him the way you do. A lot has happened between your first fight with him and his arrival yesterday. Your friends acknowledged this, but you somehow refuse to do the same." He stopped pacing when he was in front of her. "Which brings me to the other reason I let you catch up with your sleep."

"My sleep will help me welcome the guy who was trying to kill us all a month ago?" Tigress asked and gave him a look. A part of her cried out against her lack of respect, but a bigger part was beyond caring.

"I let you sleep because you will need to be at full strength today," Master Shifu replied, seemingly ignoring her attitude.

 _Oh, good, does that mean he'll let me fight Tai Lung?_ A smile played over her lips.

"After all, if you fail today's test, I will ask you to leave the Jade Palace."

The smile instantly vanished, and Tigress wheezed quietly, as if a dagger had just been shoved into her chest. She opened and closed her mouth several times, trying to come up with a response.

Master Shifu looked directly into her eyes. "Your behavior yesterday had been absolutely unacceptable, Tigress. You are holding a grudge, and you let your emotions override your reasoning _and_ your respect for your Master. Such behavior would have been inappropriate even for a child, but you are an adult and one of the most respected Kung Fu Masters in all of China!"

"You... you're throwing me out?" Tigress finally asked, summoning her entire willpower to keep her voice even.

"No," he replied and sighed. "I'm going to give you a test. And I pray that you will pass it."

She gritted her teeth and tried not to snarl. _A test! After years of complete loyalty and self-sacrifice, he decides to TEST me? And if I fail, I'm going to be thrown out of the Jade Palace? Oh, and let me guess, Tai Lung is going to take my place then, right? Your favorite student is back, and you immediately try to eliminate the redundancies!_ Despite her efforts, her claws sprang free. "So that's how it's going to be," she hissed. "Just one day since Tai Lung got-"

"This is _not_ about Tai Lung!" Master Shifu barked angrily, making her jump slightly. "This is about _you_! Do you honestly think that I have so little love for you that I will throw you out the moment a student potentially returns to the Jade Palace?" He sighed deeply and shook his head. "The mere thought of you failing this test is breaking my heart, but I will not let my emotions cloud my judgment again. You are one of my students, and right now, Tai Lung is a guest and a potential student here. I'm not asking you to hug him, but your behavior was and _is_ unacceptable." He gave her a glare, as if daring her to reply. When she simply looked down, he turned around and left her room. "The courtyard in ten minutes."

It took Tigress a few minutes to calm down enough to think clearly again. She was feeling tempted to trash her room or to cry, but in the end, she decided not to do either of these things. _Keep your lessons in mind!_ she told herself. _You're not going to convince him that you're a worthy student by acting like a little girl! Calm down, Tigress. Master Shifu doesn't hate you, and he doesn't really want to replace you. So as long as you get through this test and keep your emotions under control, everything's going to be fine._ The Kung Fu Master slipped into the lotus position and closed her eyes. _Roughly five minutes until I face the most important test in my life. I can be down at the courtyard in one minute, and I'm going to make the most of the remaining four._ With a deep sigh, she began her breathing exercises.

Almost exactly ten minutes after Master Shifu's announcement, Tigress landed in the middle of the courtyard with a soft thud. She had opted for the more flashy route across the roof of the training hall, if only to show that she was indeed ready for anything. Her Master was standing just a few feet away and nodded briefly. "Are you ready to begin your test?" he asked and raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, Master Shifu," she replied quietly and bowed slightly.

"Good." He walked over to the stairs leading down the the Valley of Peace and pointed at an empty basket that had been placed near the stairs. "This is your test," he announced.

Tigress frowned lightly. "It's... empty." _What am I supposed to do? Fight it?_ If the situation hadn't been so grave, she would have chuckled at the mental image.

"Correct, and your task is to fill it."

"...my test is to go _shopping_?"

"There is a catch, of course," the red panda admitted. "Your task is to fill this basket with apples. I believe only one saleswoman on the market still sells them at this time of the year."

Tigress's ear twitched. She knew that there was only one supplier; after all, she had bought apples from there just a few days ago. "And...?" she asked, trying not to sound overly anxious.

Master Shifu calmly reached into his pocket and fished out a few coins. "That should be enough money," he mused, throwing the coins into the basket. When he noticed Tigress's tail twitching wildly, he smiled. "Ah yes, of course. The _real_ catch. There are three rules you will have to obey."

 _Here we go,_ Tigress thought and rolled her eyes.

"One: You are not allowed to move the basket."

_Great. That means I'll have to go back and forth a few times. Maybe, if I grab an armful of apples and-_

"Two: At any time, you are only allowed to carry one apple on your person. Including pockets and other bags."

Tigress groaned. _An endurance test!_ She quickly glanced at the basket again and guessed that it would take at least twenty or thirty apples to fill it. _And I have to run down and up these stairs for every single one!_

"Three: If you drop an apple for any reason, you will have to get a new one. Are the rules clear?"

She sighed. "Yes, Master Shifu. What is the time limit?"

"I will be here again at sundown. If the basket is full of apples by then, I will completely forget about your behavior of these past few days."

 _That's... it?I have more than eight hours to fill a stupid basket?_ Tigress raised an eyebrow, but didn't complain. The third rule was a major hint that it wouldn't be quite as trivial as it sounded, but she had faith in her skills. "Anything else I need to know before I begin?" she asked and dropped to one knee.

"You can take as many breaks as you want. Po will be here, should you need anything." He shrugged lightly. "That would be all."

Tigress nodded and immediately started to dash down the stairs. Within minutes, she had reached the market. "Apples... apples..." She took a quick look around, trying not to pay any attention to the sight and smell of the tasty food all around her. _I shouldn't have skipped breakfast,_ she thought and shook her head. _But Po is there! He can whip up something nice! Once I got my first apple, I'll tell him to pack a few meatballs into a bag so I can eat them on the way._ She quickly found the saleswoman and noticed that she had two large baskets with apples. _More than enough. Even if she sells a few during the next few hours, I won't have any trouble filling my basket._ After buying one of the apples, she hurried back to the temple and placed it into the basket.

"Po!" she snapped loudly, jogging to the kitchen.

"He's in the garden, gathering some herbs or something for his soup."

Tigress's claws sprang free even before she could think about controlling herself. "You," she snarled, glaring at the snow leopard who was sitting at the kitchen table.

"Did Master Shifu send you to check up on me?" Tai Lung asked and raised an eyebrow. "I _told_ him I'd start working on the roof of the Hall of Warriors in a few!"

 _Control yourself! It's just a coincidence that he's here. Master Shifu didn't place him here as an obstacle._ She took a deep breath. _Just finish your test. Then you can deal with him._ "Never mind," she hissed and started to check the various bowls. "Anything edible in here?"

"Check the oven," Tai Lung muttered. "We were having 'Marinated Crane with Eight-Treasure Stuffing'." He rolled his eyes when she gave him a wide-eyed glare. "Oh, come _on_ ," he groaned. "Can't you take a joke? Just a few meatballs in there, seriously. We figured you'd be hungry."

"You are sick," she hissed and began to fill the warm meatballs into a cloth bag. _Just give me one good reason, and... no. Calm down, Tigress!_

"And you need to lighten up," the snow leopard replied. "Barely any meat on the guy, anyway," he added just as she was dashing out again.

As she was running down the stairs for the second time today, Tigress allowed herself a smirk. _Perfect, I won't even have to raise a finger! With this attitude, Tai Lung will get himself killed in no time at all! All I have to do is grab a few more apples, and my life will be back on track!_


	5. Pyrrhic victory

_Okay,_ Tigress thought, pausing briefly on the stairs to catch her breath, _I take it all back. This isn't going to be as easy as I had hoped._

She shook her head, sending some sweat flying from her fur. _How many apples did I get so far? A dozen? And boy, I'm exhausted!_ The Kung Fu Master started jogging slowly again, apple in her hand. _I can sorta understand Po now. These stairs can be fairly annoying._

"Good afternoon!" a voice suddenly came from above her.

Tigress cursed under her breath. _Crane. Wonderful._

"Nice day for a jog, isn't it?" the bird asked as he landed a few steps ahead of her. "And wow, you even brought a snack!"

 _Should've known this is more than just a courtesy visit!_ Tigress immediately hid the apple behind her back and gave Crane a fierce look. "Yeah, it's a nice apple," she replied carefully. "Too bad that I gotta go. Lots to do, you certainly understand."

"Oh, I do!" Crane looked slightly uncomfortable now. "Could you... could you maybe let me see it? Just for a moment!"

"Over my dead body," Tigress snarled quietly and assumed a fighting stance that placed the hand holding the apple behind her.

"Your dead- Tigress! We're talking about an apple, not the Dragon Scroll!" Crane adjusted his hat nervously before lowering his voice. "Please don't make this harder than it has to be. I'm not sure what your obsession with apples is right now, but I'm sure it's not worth getting into a-" He barely managed to block Tigress's punch and quickly jumped backwards. "-fight. Wow, you're actually serious, aren't you? Master Shifu told me to expect little cooperation, but I didn't expect you to be _this_ drastic!"

"You don't understand what this apple means to me," Tigress whispered. _Shifu! He didn't even tell Crane that I'm going to be thrown out of the temple if I can't get enough apples!_ She briefly considered telling him the entire story, but decided against it. _I don't want or need his pity or sympathy! And it's not like Crane would give me any sort of special treatment, anyway._ She snarled quietly. _I guess he wouldn't mind seeing me thrown out. Isn't that right, Crane? You'd like to be the most highly regarded warrior in the temple for a change, right?_ She shuddered and almost slapped herself. _Ugh, get a grip, Tigress! All this running and the bad dreams are making you paranoid! Crane is on your side. Nice guy, and you can trust him with your life! Sure, he wouldn't go easy on you even if you told him about the test, but that doesn't mean that he's hoping for you to fail!_

Crane cocked his head. "Are you okay?" he asked quietly. "You kinda zoned out for a minute..."

"Yeah... yeah... I'm fine. And I'll be even better once I deliver this apple. So please let me go."

"I..." He sighed. "I can't. You know that."

 _Of course he can't. How could he disobey a direct order from Master Shifu?_ "I know, Crane," she whispered and let out a sigh of her own. _And he'll stall me. Again and again. I might lose a few apples, but I will definitely lose precious time and strength. Considering how all this running will exhaust me more and more, I'm already barely on schedule._ "And I'm sorry." _I can't afford to fight Crane over and over again, and I can't convince him not to fight me. Which leaves me with only one option._ "So very sorry..."

She dropped the apple.

"Hey, why'd you-" Crane started to ask before jumping backwards with a loud squawk as Tigress's foot missed his beak by mere inches. He quickly brought up his wings and gave her a mildly annoyed look. "So that's how it's going to be?"

"Yes," Tigress hissed and raised both fists. _One lost apple is a small price to pay for the ability to fight without anything holding me back._

It was an uneven and probably unfair fight; Tigress was ready to admit that. While neither of them really wanted to fight the other, Tigress had the bigger motivation to win. The knowledge that losing would likely mean that she'd be thrown out of the Jade Palace in less than half a day made her fight harder than in any friendly sparring match. Within minutes, Crane was falling back further and further, and Tigress kept pushing until they were almost at the courtyard again.

 _He'll understand,_ she told herself. _Once I pass the test, I'll tell him why I had to do this, and he'll assure me he would've done the same._ She brought her fist against his wing at full strength again - and froze when she heard a horrible cracking noise.

Crane reacted immediately by leaping backwards and holding up his good wing - their usual signal to stop a sparring fight due to serious problems. Then, he clutched his broken wing and lowered his head. His hat was preventing her from seeing his pained expression, but the groaning was enough to clue her in. "Okay, fine," he finally muttered and chuckled drily. "I guess I'm out."

"Oh, Crane..." Tigress gestured vaguely, then just looked down at her paws, as if seeing them for the first time. _What have I done?_

"You know, I'm kinda mad, actually." His voice made her snap out of her reverie. She looked up at him, and his eyes met hers. Much to her surprise, he shot her a grin. "You let me win all these times, didn't you? Why'd I never catch on that you're _this_ strong? I mean, I always knew that you're the strongest of our group, but-"

"Hey, Crane, what's taking you so long?" Viper's voice made them both look up at the top of the stairs. "Po's made a snack, and you said you'd come once you had-" The snake froze on her way down when she saw the two fighters. Then her eyes moved to Crane's obviously broken wing. "What the Hell..."

"I..." Tigress gestured helplessly. "I'm sorry," she finally whispered and lowered her head. "It was an accident."

"Accident? _Accident?_ Are you insane?" Viper quickly jumped down the stairs until she reached them. "Tigress! You never broke anybody's limb before!"

"Viper, please," Tigress pleaded, but the snake's eyes narrowed.

"What's gotten into you?" she hissed, and her eyes briefly moved to the courtyard again. "MONKEY?" she finally shouted before focusing her attention back on Tigress. "MONKEY!"

"Just... just take care of him. Please! I swear I'll explain everything once-"

"Once what?" Viper asked sharply and moved between Tigress and Crane, as if expecting her to attack again. "Once you got your apples?" Before Tigress could even reply to this, the snake spat on the ground. "Apples! Can you believe it! You broke his wing because of _apples_!"

"Viper," Crane spoke quietly, "I think this is kinda important for her, so-"

"So what?" Viper was clearly getting worked up about this. "So we should ignore how she's become more and more unhinged ever since Po became the Dragon Warrior? We've done that for a month, and look where it got us! Just listen to her!"

Viper leapt up the stairs again, and it took Tigress a second to realize where she was heading. _No! Not the apples!_ She started to run, but Viper had already reached the basket.

"Apples! She cares more about apples than about your well-being!" The snake hooked the tip of her tail under the basket's handle, and Tigress froze in shock. "You know, Tigress... if you like apples so much..."

"DON'T!" Tigress screamed and shook her head frantically. "Please listen to me! I need those apples to-"

Viper catapulted the basket down the stairs.

"NO!" The cat started to run. _Just a few steps!_ Viper hadn't thrown the basket very far, but that only made things worse for Tigress. _Once it hits the ground, all the apples are going to fall out! But I can still catch it! Just a few more-_

Tigress tripped. Badly.

A yelp escaped her throat as she hit the stairs hard. Her left ankle hurt like Hell, and she was certain that it was sprained. But she forgot about that pain when she looked up again and saw the now empty basket rolling down the stairs. Apples were lying all around her.

Somewhere in the distance, Viper was shouting something. Crane scolded the snake, then spoke a few words of consolation to Tigress. Monkey arrived on the scene and exchanged a few words with his friends. But the cat wasn't listening to any of them. She just lay on the stairs, looking at the basket that had decided her fate.

Finally, she heard the other Masters leaving the scene.

Only then did she allow herself to cry.


	6. Intentional loopholes

It was getting late; the sun had already disappeared behind the treetops. Very soon, Master Shifu would come to check her result. Tigress sighed weakly. She hadn't moved an inch ever since her fellow Masters had abandoned her.

"Man, he's late..." Po's voice made her ear twitch. "Market's already closed, so what's taking him?" She heard him coming towards the stairs. Another moment, and... "Whoa! Tigress?!"

 _Great,_ Tigress thought and sighed again. "What," she muttered quietly, not even bothering to look up at him.

"What happened here?" the Panda asked, turning this way and that to take in the entire scene. "Was there a fight? What're those apples doing here? Are you injured?"

"Po."

"Was it Tai Lung? I swear, if he attacked you instead of getting that leek from the market, I'll-"

"Po."

"...yes?"

"Shut up, please..."

Po shifted his weight uncomfortably for a few seconds before leaning down into her field of view. "What happened?"

"That's... that's not important," Tigress whispered, trying to avoid his eyes. _The only thing that matters is what's going to happen at sunset._ She closed her eyes, trying to imagine the scene. _I bet Shifu is going to assemble everyone. And then... then he'll hold one of his special speeches where he points out just how much someone screwed up. Urgh, he loves those speeches. And it'll be all about me. Then, once he's done humiliating me in front of the people who once respected me, he'll throw me out._ "Damn him..." Her claws sprang free. _Not if I can help it! You want to ruin my life, Shifu? Well, you may succeed, but I'm not going to give you this extra satisfaction!_

"Who or what are you talking about?"

"Nothing," she replied, giving him a determined look now. "Po? I need you to do me a favor."

"Sure... I guess..." The panda was frowning lightly, and Tigress was certain that he was questioning her sanity.

"Go to my room and pack my bags. Just my clothes and maybe some food. Then bring them here as soon as possible."

Po opened his mouth to reply, and Tigress opened hers to cut off his protest. Neither of them got further than the first word before a third voice joined in. "Po..."

Tigress turned her head to look down the stairs and bared her fangs. _Great. Just what I needed to make my misery complete. Him._

"Po, Po, Po..." Tai Lung slowly came up the stairs, wearing his hooded cape and carrying a large bag on his back. "You have a lot to learn when it comes to women."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Po and Tigress asked simultaneously.

The snow leopard chuckled before addressing the Dragon Warrior again. "Women will sometimes ask you for one thing even though they actually need something completely different." He now gave her a meaningful look which quickly turned into a light frown. "For example, Tigress asked for her bags, but what she actually needs is the first aid kit. Would you be so kind, please?"

Po looked at him, then down at her, as if asking if it was all right. "Fine," Tigress finally sighed. "Get the first aid kit, please." She paused briefly. "Oh, and Po!" she shouted after him. "Don't tell anybody anything about this, okay?" _The last thing I need is Viper or Monkey making this scene even more complicated or awkward..._

"Nice guy, really," Tai Lung commented once Po was gone. "Bit on the clumsy side, but he means well."

"What do you want?" Tigress hissed wearily.

"Hey, what's with the sudden attitude change, Stripey?"

 _...Stripey?_ "What's with your know-it-all attitude?" she shot back, trying to look as intimidating as possible. Which, given her injured and prone state, was fairly hard.

"Got the first aid kit!" Po shouted, almost stumbling down the stairs.

"He's fast," Tai Lung whispered and gave her a surprised look.

"Hardly," Tigress muttered. "Since he started training here, we got a few more kits and placed them at all training sites, including the courtyard."

"Thanks, Po, I'll handle it from here," Tai Lung addressed the panda and smiled. Po again looked at Tigress for permission and gave him the first aid kit when she just rolled her eyes. "Oh, and before you go, here's your leek. Sorry it took me so long." Tai Lung reached into his bag and took out a small bundle.

"It's about time, dinner's running late!"

"Nah, we won't get dinner before the test ends," the snow leopard remarked quietly when Po had run back to the kitchen.

 _He knows._ Tigress paled under her fur. _He knows about this test!_ She jumped to her feet. "WHO TOLD YOUAGHHHHHHHH!" She hit the ground hard, clutching her left ankle. _Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

"Here you go."

Tigress blinked. The pain of suddenly having put half her weight on her sprained ankle slowly ebbed away, and she shook her head to focus on the object that was seemingly hovering in front of her face now. "...peach?" she finally asked and hesitatingly took it out of his hand.

"Don't worry, it's from the market. Not stolen from the Sacred Peach Tree of Wisdom." He winked. "For a change."

After hesitating for a few moments, she took a bite out of the small fruit and rolled onto her back with a loud sigh before holding up her foot for him. The snow leopard sat down a few steps lower than her and eased her leg onto his. Ignoring her silent hisses, he gently probed the swollen ankle. "Mh, should be fine with just a bandage and some cooling salve. You're going to need a cane for a few days, though." Tai Lung picked up the necessary items and started to work.

"You know, don't you?"

"Mh?" he asked as he spread some of the salve on a few bandages. "Oh, you mean about Shifu's Apple Test? Sure."

"Why did he tell only you? Viper and Crane didn't seem to know anything about it..." She groaned quietly when he placed the cold bandages on her ankle.

"I assume you're lying here thanks to those two, then?"

"Yeah. I fought Crane and... and I went overboard. Broke his wing. Which in turn made Viper snap. She's the one who threw the basket down the stairs, too." She sighed deeply. "Neither of them knew about the test, though. So why did Master Shifu tell _you_ about it?"

"Oh, he didn't _tell_ me. I just saw you racing up and down those stairs, carrying an apple at a time and growing more irritated with each round trip. Reminded me of all the times I had to take that stupid test."

"You..." Tigress blinked. "He made you do this, too?"

"Sure," he replied and shrugged. "Kinda surprised he never did this to you guys before, actually. Then again, you considered running away from home just because you're about to fail, so maybe he just figured that you're a sore loser and-"

"What are you talking about?"

Tai Lung frowned lightly and gave her a look before finishing the bandaging. "What did Shifu tell you?" He offered her a hand and pulled her onto her feet, letting her hold on to his shoulder to put the weight off her injured ankle. As he started to lead her up the stairs, he picked up the empty basket.

She gritted her teeth and tried to ignore the fact that she had to rely on the guy who - in her view - had gotten her into this mess. _Then again, here I am, discussing things with him as... well... a fellow student who had to endure Master Shifu's often weird training methods? Is that why the others accepted him so readily? Because they can relate to him in some way?_ Tigress frowned lightly, then sighed. _Interesting insight, but it came too late._ "Master Shifu is going to throw me out of the temple."

He gave her a wide-eyed stare. "He what?"

 _Why is he looking so... afraid? He's going to stay! It's me who will be thrown out! This makes no sense. Why would he be close to some sort of panic because of my fate? Sympathy? Solidarity?_ She rubbed her forehead with her free hand. "He's going to exile me. Didn't he do that with you?"

"Well, obviously not!" Tai Lung exclaimed, gesturing wildly. "I mean, hello? Favorite student ever until he tried to attack his Master?"

"Maybe you passed it!" Tigress also started gesturing. "After all, you're the guy who mastered all of the thousand scrolls!"

He laughed, and for a moment, Tigress was back on the bridge: It was the same laugh he had given her when she had attempted to bluff him into thinking that she was the Dragon Warrior. "No. I never passed that test. Took it four times, but always with relatively light punishment. You know, stuff like polishing all spikes in the Gauntlet of Wooden Warriors with a cloth barely larger than my pinky."

"So it's really just an excuse to inflict punishment," she muttered and dug her claws into his shoulder, making him wince slightly. "An impossible test; who'd have thought he'd play dirty like that?"

"It's actually not impossible, I think," Tai Lung suddenly mused.

"We both tried, we both failed." They had reached the top of the stairs, and Tigress sat down on the first step. Tai Lung placed the basket between them and sat down, too. His - still remarkably full - bag ended up behind him, and he leaned back against it. She crossed her arms and looked down the stairs. "I think that, aside from Master Shifu, nobody here can match either of us in terms of stamina or speed, so if _we_ couldn't do it, it _is_ impossible."

Tai Lung chuckled quietly, ignoring her glare. "Yeah, that's what I always thought, too. That it's a matter of being fast and lasting long." He gave her a look. "And you're right - it's impossible to fill the basket that way. Nobody has that sort of endurance. You manage a few, but after a while, you-"

"You just said it's _not_ impossible!" Tigress snapped and leaned heavily on the now empty basket, her bared fangs just inches away from his face.

He gave her an understanding smile, looking a lot like a teacher addressing a young student. "Tell me the rules again."

 _Do you honestly think I won't kill you? Just because I didn't have the energy or the will to kill you a few minutes ago doesn't mean that you can be all smug and mysterious like that! A few non-hostile words do_ not _make you my buddy!_ She huffed. "Don't move the basket, never carry more than one apple, a dropped apple has to be discarded."

"See?"

"No, I don't," she hissed.

"And neither did I. But watching you today, I think I got the idea. It's a lesson." He frowned as he looked into the distance. "And I think it's a pretty bad sign that he feels the need to teach _you_ this lesson."

"Are you sure Shifu was your Master?" Tigress groaned and rolled her eyes. "You sound a lot more like Master Oogay right now."

"Nah, I'm just being a tease, Stripey." His snickering turned into a strangled gasp when her paw locked itself around his throat. "NOT AN ENDURANCE TEST!"

She let go again and frowned. "What do you mean by that? What else would it be?"

"You and I both got enough strength, speed and endurance to fight off a small army, and Master Shifu knows that. It makes little sense to test that, just like we don't feel the need to test Crane's flying." Tai Lung smoothed the fur around his throat again. "No. The Apple Test is about intelligence and pride."

 _So I'm a proud idiot then?_ "Explain."

"Think about it." He shrugged. "What's your goal?"

"To fill the basket with apples."

"And where do you get the apples from?"

"From the market." Her tail twitched, and she was awfully close to losing her temper again.

"Did he tell you to run down those stairs, buy a single apple, run back up and put the apple in the basket?"

"Yes, he did!" she shouted, scratching the sides of the basket with her claws.

He shook his head. "No, he didn't."

"...what?"

"Shifu did the same routine with me every time. He told me to fill the basket with apples and that I can buy apples on the market. Then he gave me money and explained the rules."

Tigress briefly considered beating him up with the basket. "Yes. AND?"

The snow leopard gave her a long look. "Mh. I guess this is how Master Shifu must've felt all these times." He sighed. "You're not supposed to go to market. You're not supposed to buy apples. You're not supposed to run up and down these stairs all day long." When Tigress just stared, he sighed again. "You're supposed to ask somebody else to buy the apples for you."

She blinked. Once. Twice. "...what?"

"All those rules apply to the one taking the test, period. For example, you didn't break the first rule, even though the basket moved. Viper threw it down, I carried it up." He shrugged. "You could have asked any of your friends to go to the market and buy a basket full of apples for you. Just like I could have asked any merchant to deliver a basket to the temple. Then, the entire test would have been reduced to taking an apple from one basket and placing it in the other one. You could have been done within an hour."

Tigress opened her mouth to reply, to tell him that he was wrong, but she couldn't bring out a single word. _He is right,_ she finally realized. _He is actually right. I could have asked Crane, Viper... or even Po. In fact, Master Shifu explicitly told me that Po would be there if I needed anything!_

"I figure you're a bit like me there," Tai Lung whispered. "Strong and independent, right?"

"Yeah," Tigress replied quietly, staring down at the basket. "Strong, independent... and banished."

"Hey now... I'm not banished!" he told her and chuckled. Then he gently patted her head. "And neither are you."

"I will be in, what, half an hour? Maybe less?"

Tai Lung slowly got to his feet again and started to shake the dirt from his pants. "That's still more than enough time to fill a basket with apples, even when you do it one by one."

"The market's closed." She sighed deeply. "Thanks for the lesson, but it was too little, too late. Besides, even if it was still open, who could I send right now? My friends hate me. So who is left? You?"

"Aw, I'm sure your friends don't hate you. They'd understand if you explained the stakes of this test to them. Though it'd take time, I guess." He paused briefly. "And while you could ask me, I'd refuse, even if the market was still open."

She gave him a dark look. _Yeah, big surprise there. Guess that he really is glad to get rid of me. So all this talk about the lesson and his insight... was that just teasing?_

"Oh, come on, now!" Tai Lung defended himself and raised his hands. "I just _came_ from the market and had to carry this heavy bag all the way up here! I'm exhausted!" He stretched theatrically. "And now I have to explain Po why I felt the need to buy a ton of apples for no good reason! He's going to be mad! Can't you see how I'm already inconvenienced enough?"

Tigress rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you're a poor, poor kitty ca-" She froze. _Did he just say... apples?_ Her eyes widened, and she finally gave the bag a closer look. _It has the right size... but... did he actually...?_

He smiled warmly when she looked up at him. "I'll make sure that Shifu won't bother you for another half hour or so." Then, without waiting for her reply, he turned around and walked towards the buildings, leaving the bag full of apples behind.


	7. Lady Tigress

"Hm, tougher than expected," Tai Lung muttered, giving the five unconscious Kung Fu fighters a light frown. They had almost defeated him here at the bridge, and he had only managed to turn the fight around by using a slightly dirty trick. _Though my training and stamina also played a key role,_ he added and looked back at the incredible distance he had catapulted himself across.

"I like your fighting style, actually."

The voice made him whirl around. _Tigress? I paralyzed her_ and _knocked her out! How can she still be conscious?_ "Didn't I just tell you that-" He froze. "...Tigress?" The person in front of him most definitely was Master Tigress, but yet... it wasn't. Tai Lung cocked his head and raised an eyebrow.

"Like what you see?" the female fighter asked, idly stroking her pink kimono with the cherry blossom pattern. Even during this utterly surreal moment, Tai Lung noticed that it emphasized her figure nicely.

"Wha..." He glanced past her and saw the real Tigress lying on the ground, just like he had left her. Then he gave the feline in front of him a look. "Who... how...?"

"Does that matter?" the second Tigress asked and batted her long eyelashes. "I'm here, you're here... and together, we can claim what is rightfully yours! The Dragon Scroll!" She took his hand and beamed.

Tai Lung gave her a long stare. Finally, he groaned. "This is just a dream, isn't it?"

Lady Tigress giggled in the most girlish way possible. "Of course it is, silly!" She stepped forward and let her hands run over his arms. "I'm your perfect girl." Her mouth found his neck, and she started to nibble on it, sending shivers down his spine. "I'm everything you desire."

"You're not real!" he hissed and shoved her away. "You're not real! And... and you're not Tigress. This isn't what Tigress is like. At all."

She smirked and crossed her arms. "Of course I'm not like the real Tigress. The real Tigress would never fancy the guy who almost killed her. The real Tigress would never do something girlish just to make you feel more secure. The real Tigress _hates_ you."

"I'm working on it!" he snapped, showing his fangs. "But it's not like your opinion matters since you're wrong, anyway! You know nothing about the real Tigress!" He laughed nervously, hoping that she wouldn't call his pathetic bluff.

The fake Tigress rolled her eyes before giving him a disgusted look. He shuddered when he realized that this made her look _a lot_ more like the real Tigress. "Oh please. Who are you trying to fool? This is your dream, remember? I know everything you know, so you might as well admit that I'm right. Your dream of dating Tigress will always remain just that: A dream." She suddenly gave him a playful grin. "So you might as well make the most of it while you're around!"

"No!" He stumbled backwards, shaking his head frantically. "You're wrong! I can do better than this! I can convince Tigress to give me a chance! I can make her see the real me!"

She snickered at that and shook her head. "She already saw the real you. That vile, pathetic and obsessed fanatic who-"

"SHUT UP!" he roared and lashed out at her.

Tigress flinched, and Tai Lung paled when he noticed the blood on his claws. But before he could say anything, she looked up at him again, her face disfigured by three wide gashes. "See?" she asked and gave him a cruel grin. "This is the real you."

"NO!" Tai Lung screamed as he finally woke up. "Damn it all..." He looked down at his hands and flexed his claws. _No blood. Of course no blood. That had just been a dream. No, a nightmare._

"Nightmare," he repeated quietly and shook his head. _When was the last time I had one, actually? I always thought that nightmares are for people with weaknesses, not for the future Dragon Warrior._ The snow leopard got up and stretched idly. The cave he had slept in was cool, but not cold enough to be truly uncomfortable. Of course, it was a far cry from his old room in the Jade Palace, but moving back in was out of the question as long as the others didn't trust him.

 _Nightmares are a sign of fear, aren't they? But what am I afraid of? Nothing! Even when I came back here, fully expecting Shifu to send me away or kill me on the spot, I hadn't been afraid. So what-_ He sighed. "Tigress." _Of course. I'm afraid of being rejected by her._

With a groan, he sat down on the blanket again and rubbed his forehead. _Why can't I get her out of my head? Is this... love? Am I in love with her?_ Tai Lung briefly reviewed his dream and sighed again. _Who am I kidding? Yes, I'm in love with Tigress. In love with the girl who tried to prove herself to her Master by killing me. The girl who greeted me with a punch to the face when I returned. The girl who looked_ oh-so-graceful _doing all that._

"Ugh, I'm hopeless," he muttered. _Yeah, just listen to yourself! She tried to kill you, and all you can think of is the way her fur glistened in the sun when she smacked you down! You can't even think straight when she's involved! You act and talk like some twenty-year-old!_ He grunted. _I_ am _a twenty-year-old. Sort of. Well, okay, slightly older than that. But not_ that _much. And those years in Chor Ghom don't count, do they?_

The feline frowned. _What if she thinks I'm immature? Maybe she'd prefer the more mature me and thinks I'm just being silly? She is certainly the type to dismiss not completely serious attitudes as silly. What with that stick up her tail and all... Yeah, Tigress just needs to loosen up. And she's trying, isn't she? I mean, she did relax when Shifu officially confirmed that she had secured her place in the temple again. I think she even smiled when Viper apologized for throwing the basket away. And I bet she also would've given me a smile if I hadn't opted for the "I walk away while you realize just how much I helped you" exit back there!_

His tail twitched. _I could have made her kiss my feet, but I instead opted to be cool. And now she's up there with her friends, and I'm stuck in my cave again. So close to the temple, and yet so far away. And she never even thanked me properly! Bah, it's my own fault. I should've taken advantage of the opportunity instead of thinking that-_

"Nice cave."

He froze. Somebody had found him, and his - admittedly flimsy - disguise was out of reach. _If it's someone from the village, there is going to be a mass panic before I can ask Shifu to clear things up!_ But then he realized that he knew the voice. He just hadn't heard it say things like "nice" before. "...Stripey?" he asked and turned around to look at the cave entrance.

Tigress rubbed her forehead with her hand. "I really wish you'd stop calling me that."

Tai Lung jumped to his feet and gave her a surprised smile even as he tried to decide whether or not to grant her her wish. "What brings you here?" he finally asked, avoiding the issue for the moment. "I would've thought that you'd be sick of running up and down these stairs after today's ordeal. Especially like this." He pointed at the cane she was leaning onto.

"Trust me, it's not by choice," she muttered, trying to look as annoyed as possible. "I have been sent here by the others. If it had been up to me, I'd be asleep by now - like the good student I am."

He raised an eyebrow at that one. _Did she just make a joke? Or is she really that egotistic? Nah, the former, I bet._ "Oh, really? And why would the others send you here in the middle of the night?"

She sighed dramatically. "Oh, you know... they played up the whole test issue and decided to throw a small party." She quickly held up her hand. "I of course objected! Especially since my lack of sleep pretty much caused this whole mess in the first place. But they insisted, and so we had this... _cozy get-together_." The Tiger Style Master grimaced as she spoke those words. Tai Lung chuckled quietly, imagining Tigress sipping tea at a little round table, wearing a silly dress. "And in the end, they asked just how I had managed to get so many apples, what with my sprained ankle and all that."

"Oh no!" Tai Lung gasped in mock terror. "So you actually had to tell the horrible truth?"

Tigress gave him a look that would have made Shifu cry for mercy. "Yes. And you know what they suggested then?"

"Hmmmm... let me think..." He stroked his chin and smirked before imitating Crane's voice. "But Tigress! If it's true that you would have been banished without the cunning and noble Tai Lung's help, we should ask him to celebrate with us! You should go to him right now and invite him!"

Her look became even more intense, and Tai Lung briefly worried that his fur might spontaneously ignite. "Not quite as much praise for the guy who once was willing to maim everybody in his way, but your basic guess was right," she finally muttered.

 _Does she really hate me this much? Without me,_ she _would be the one living in some cave now! I'd normally guess that this is all an act, but damn, she's hard to read!_ He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "So you came here to ask me to join you?" he asked to verify.

"I was _sent_ here to ask you," she corrected him and huffed as she mimicked his pose.

For a long time, neither of them spoke. _Should I continue following the noble and cool path? It just might work out in the long term, but it's such a big risk! I really would love to join her, dammit! Standing in the spotlight would be wonderful... even if this is supposed to be_ her _party._ He sighed. _I'm such an idiot sometimes..._ "Do you want me to come?"

The female Kung Fu Master blinked. This had definitely not been the reply she had expected. A silly, mocking smile appeared on her face. "Me? Want _you_ to come? Are you _insane_?" She laughed nervously. "Of course not!"

"Then I'll stay here."

Tigress froze in mid-laugh and blinked again. "Wait... are you serious?" The smile was replaced by a look of confusion. "You... would stay? No taunting about how you'll go to the party _especially_ because I don't want you to go?"

 _Okay, it's a start... just don't mess it up now!_ He took a deep breath and sat down on the blanket. It was a calculated move to make her feel bigger and in charge. "I'm serious, yes," he finally replied, keeping his tone even. "It's your party, and you went through enough crap these days to deserve a night that goes according to your wishes." _And as much fun it'd be to watch you freak out, I don't want to make you mad._ "And if your wish is to be alone with your friends, then I will honor that." He gave her a calm smile. "That's why I asked you: Do you want me to come?"

"I..." She bit her lip and averted her eyes.

_She's actually considering it? How interesting..._

For almost half a minute, Tigress gnawed on her lip and looked at the floor, at the roof, at anything but him. Finally, she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "...yes."

Now it was the snow leopard's turn to blink. "...yes?" he asked, not quite believing his ears.

She gave him a nervous smile. "Yes, I want you to join the party."

 _Wow, talk about a risk actually paying off!_ He smiled up at her - and frowned. _Now what?_

Tigress was gripping the handle of her cane tightly, and her tail twitched. "I... you know how... I mean... About today... about how you... _helped_ me..." She took a deep breath, and he was almost certain that her claws were now digging themselves into the handle.

 _Oh, so that's what this is all about._ He rolled his eyes.

"I... I wanted to say-"

The snow leopard got to his feet again and cracked his knuckles, making Tigress jump slightly. "Let's go," he muttered and walked past her. "You're going to be late for your own party."

She gave him a wide-eyed look and gestured wildly with her free hand. "What the- I was having a moment here! I was going to be nice, and you _walk out on me_?"

For a brief moment, Tai Lung was afraid that she'd start a fight here and now. "Yes, I'm walking out on you." He studied her carefully, holding back his next sentence until _just_ before she went over the edge. The moment came just a split-second later when Tigress flexed her muscles, preparing herself to swing her cane at him. "But you weren't having some sorta 'moment'."

"What?" Tigress snapped, looking both exasperated and disappointed.

Tai Lung asked himself how often Master Shifu had seen her like this. _If she's anything like me, at least a hundred times._ "You were forcing yourself to thank me. I guess you felt... what, guilty? Obliged? I don't know, but I do know that you weren't having some sort of magical moment here; and unlike our Master, I'm not interested in forcing you to do some things just because it would be polite." He gave her one of his rare warm smiles. "Once you feel that you _want_ to thank me, feel free to do so. Until then, I'll just bask in the knowledge that you owe me."

She smirked at that, and he could see the relief in her eyes. "You'll regret this, you know? I'm not known for thanking others, so you may have thrown away a once-in-a-lifetime chance."

"Duly noted." The snow leopard gave her a long look. "Should we get going then, _Tigress_?"

Tigress blinked in surprise, but then smiled. "Longing for your place in the spotlight?"

He bowed theatrically. "You know me so well."

"No, I don't think I do... yet," she whispered as she limped past him.


	8. House of cards

The sound of a gong made Tai Lung groan. _Morning gong. Night shift leaves, morning shift arrives. Likely that stupid guy who won't stop talking about his digestion. Urgh._

"Wha' was 'at?" somebody behind him mumbled, making him frown.

 _That's not one of the guards... and no guard wouldn't recognize the sound of the gong._ The snow leopard yawned, then froze. _I can move!_ His eyes flew wide open. _I CAN SEE! I'M... not in Chor Ghom? No, wait... of course not. Broke out there long ago. But then..._ "Where... am I?" Getting up - even just to his hands and knees - took more effort than his first steps after decades in the metal turtle shell.

Tai Lung squinted and took a slow look around. Everything was wrong, somehow. The sun was way too bright, the room wasn't holding still like it was supposed to, and the Furious Five were- He froze when he noticed the unconscious Kung Fu Masters lying around him. _I slept in a room... with them? But..._ He frowned lightly and gave the room another once-over. _Right. This is my room in the Jade Palace. No. Wait. Welcome to the present! I don't have a room here! But it's one just like it. A room for students... the one we... we... the one we had a big party in. And now everybody is pretty much unconscious._ "Crap." _Can this get any worse?_

"Ohhhhh, my head..." It was the voice he had heard before, and Tai Lung finally realized that it belonged to Po. The panda slowly sat up and held his head.

 _This might be awkward,_ he thought, waiting for Po to finally notice the formerly banished student kneeling in the middle of the unconscious Furious Five.

"Man... this is worse than Lantern Festival last year... at least then, I wasn't woken up to the sound of some gong..."

 _Gong,_ Tai Lung silently repeated and blinked. _Gong..._ "Gong!" he finally yelped when his mind had pieced together the situation.

Po abruptly looked up at him, and Tai Lung could see his eyes widening. "Tai Lung!"

"Morning gong!" the snow leopard snapped and frantically gestured at the door. "We-... I mean... _you_ got to be up and running in a minute!" _And I need to disappear before Master Shifu realizes I spent the night here!_

"What are you- How did- What-" Po took a deep breath and rubbed his temples. "Ghhh... headache..."

"Wake up the others!" Tai Lung hissed and crawled over to the closest of the Furious Five. _Just wake them up and climb through the window once they're getting ready. No biggie, I've done this before. Sort of. Okay, usually I had to sneak back_ into _my room in the morning._ He allowed himself a brief smile before focusing on the task at hand again. The Kung Fu warrior in front of him was Master Viper, and Tai Lung frowned lightly. _How do you wake up a snake? I mean, I can't exactly shake her shoulders, can I?_ He lightly poked her head, resisting the urge to pick her up. _Didn't she have poison fangs? And heck, even without them, the last time I let her come close, she used my own arm to punch me!_ "Psssst, Viper... wakey, wakey..."

"Mhhhhh..." The snake coiled up in slow motion. "Wha' is it, father...?"

 _Aw, how adorable. She thinks I'm her dad._ "You got drunk last night, my dear" he whispered after leaning in closer. "Oh, and Master Shifu will expect you to be awake and sober in half a minute."

Viper frowned lightly as the message made its way into her head. Then, a few seconds later, he eyes flew wide open. "Master Shifu! Wha- When- Is it already- Morning gong?" Before she could settle on a question to ask first, her head hit the floor again. "Ohhhhhhhhh... I don't feel so great..."

The general sentiment was apparently shared by the other warriors, as he could see from their expressions. Po had woken them up faster - and with slightly less care - than Tai Lung had woken up Viper, and now the five fighters were struggling to get to their feet - or in Viper's case, to at least get her head off the ground.

Satisfied that Master Shifu at least wouldn't walk into a room full of sleeping students, he tiptoed to the window. "Okay, you guys take care, and I'll-"

"And you'll do what?"

Tai Lung froze, his hand just inches away from his exit. "And I'll... see where our dearest Master Shifu is, because he seems to be late...?" He laughed sheepishly and turned around to face the red panda standing in the door.

"I'm never late," Master Shifu pointed out quietly, and Tai Lung couldn't quite figure out whether his Master was amused or completely pissed off. "Then again, my prized students also never failed to greet their Master in the corridor after the morning gong rang." He gave each of the Furious Five a look - Tai Lung noted that he apparently hadn't included Po in that remark - before focusing his attention on the snow leopard again. "Tai Lung, follow me. The rest of you will be on the courtyard in ten minutes. We will do a short walk before breakfast."

Ignoring the quiet groans of the others, Tai Lung followed his Master with a frown. One of the few things he definitely hadn't missed during his twenty years away from the Jade Palace had been Master Shifu lecturing him about mistakes. _And back then, I had been his most valued student and the future Dragon Warrior. Who knows what will happen after all that I did?_ He froze. _Will he throw me out?_

"Sit down," the red panda said quietly once they reached a large bench at the edge of the courtyard. Only when his student was seated did he sit down next to him. "I have to say that I'm deeply disappointed by you, Tai Lung."

The feline sighed loudly. "I know I'm not allowed to spend my nights here, but it was just-"

"Who is talking about you sleeping here or there?" Shifu suddenly hissed, his eyes narrowing slightly as he gave him a glare. "You dragged my model students into some sort of drinking binge!"

"I dragged... wha?" Tai Lung blinked. "Wait, you think that this was _my_ idea?"

"Are you trying to tell me that it was not?"

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's what I'm trying to tell you. They were celebrating Tigress passing the test and only invited me later on." When he noticed his Master's look, he sighed. "Yes, the alcohol had been there before I arrived. I didn't ask who got it, or from where."

Master Shifu obviously wasn't convinced yet. "I will verify this later. Mostly because I have some trouble believing that they so readily invited you..." He quickly held up his hand to cut off any protest. "Don't get me wrong! It would be very nice if they did, but until yesterday, at least Tigress openly hated you."

"Well, she kinda owes me for-" Tai Lung quickly closed his mouth again. _Should I tell him that I helped Tigress? What if he decides that Tigress didn't actually pass the test because I was the one who did all the heavy lifting?_

"Hm." The red panda narrowed his eyes and looked straight at him. "You helped her."

A gulp. "...yes," he finally whispered.

For long seconds, neither of them spoke a word. Finally, his old Master smiled. "Good, it's about time you learned that lesson." When Tai Lung let out a loud sigh of relief, he chuckled. "You thought that I'd throw her out because she didn't get the important idea herself, didn't you?"

"The thought may have crossed my mind," the snow leopard replied with a smirk.

"She's a lot like you, you know?" Master Shifu suddenly remarked, watching the clouds above them. "So much potential... so much strength... Not as much as you got, but it's promising."

 _Where did that come from? Shifu's rarely been one to start an actual conversation unless it had a deeper purpose._ "I wouldn't be so sure about that," Tai Lung whispered and leaned back, closing his eyes. _Might as well play along, though._

"What's that supposed to mean?"

All of a sudden, Tai Lung felt like a fellow teacher instead of a student. "She's holding back."

"I trained her to use her strength in a different way than you do," Master Shifu replied, unable to keep a slight edge out of his voice.

"You taught me Tiger style. I _know_ how it focuses power into quick bursts." He opened his eyes again and looked up at his Master. "And I'm telling you that she's holding back. Big time."

"So you think she is stronger than you?"

"...maybe," he finally replied after a long pause. "She hasn't learned how to actually _use_ her full strength, so in most situations, I'd be ahead of her. But... you know that nerve strike you taught me?"

Tai Lung didn't have to open his eyes to know that his Master was giving him a glare. "You mean the one you used on my students?"

"She resisted it." He let that one sink in for a few moments. "I hit her with pinpoint precision, she wasn't able to move a muscle... but she stayed conscious. Took another hit just to knock her out." He opened his eyes again to look at his Master. "You should train her."

"I already do," Master Shifu replied, not quite meeting his eyes.

The snow leopard smirked. "You know what I mean. The sole reason I'm here right now is that you didn't teach her any of the secret arts." __When his Master didn't answer, he blinked. "You're holding her back on purpose, aren't you?"

"I have my reasons." Master Shifu's tiny hands gripped his bamboo flute tightly. It was barely noticeable, but Tai Lung had learned to pay attention to body language.

He cocked his head. "I could've sworn you trusted her, old m-"

The flute hit his throat just hard enough to make him cough frantically. "I trust Tigress with my life!" Master Shifu hissed into his ear even while he was recovering from the sudden attack.

"Gah..." He coughed again and rubbed his throat. "Totally forgot how much pain that flute can cause," he muttered more to himself than to his Master before looking up at him. "And you know, there once was a time when you said the same about-" He froze. _-me._ Tai Lung quickly lowered his eyes, preparing himself for the blow he fully deserved. _That one was way over the line, idiot! Way to tear open old wounds and to suggest that she would abuse his trust... the way I did..._

However, his punishment never came. Instead, Master Shifu just let out a deep, sad sigh. "Tai Lung, I..." He looked up again, only to see his Master struggling to maintain his composure.

"If this is a bad time," Tigress suddenly chimed in, making both of them whirl around, "we can come back after breakfast, okay?"

 _Now there's a sad sight,_ Tai Lung mused, trying not to smirk. _Though I don't exactly mind the distraction._ Alcohol and the Furious Five obviously didn't play together well, and now that he was fully awake, he had a better chance to evaluate the sorry shape the six warriors were in. Tigress was leaning heavily on her cane, Crane had his wing in a sling and had pulled his hat deep down to shield his eyes... and the others didn't look much better despite not being injured: Viper barely got her head off the ground as she slithered in seemingly random directions, Mantis was practically unconscious, and Monkey - who apparently had offered Mantis a ride on his shoulder - was squinting at the sun. Only Po was in halfway acceptable shape, and Tai Lung realized that he had likely gathered some drinking experience during his years working in a noodle restaurant. _Or at least more than the others who spent pretty much their entire time in this temple._

"I will be generous and assume that, due to your hangover, you simply _forgot_ about the pre-breakfast walk I mentioned earlier," Master Shifu said, changing gears and moods with a swiftness that surprised even Tai Lung. "Because otherwise, I would have to assume that you deliberately tried to trick me."

She grimaced slightly. "Of course, Master. I indeed... forgot."

"Was worth a try," Monkey whispered, causing Tigress to roll her eyes.

"Good answer, Tigress. Let's not waste any time then!" Master Shifu gestured towards a path leading further up the mountain, then looked up at Tai Lung again. "You..."

 _Now what? Continuing this here and now would lead nowhere. I shouldn't have brought it up in the first place._ "I..." He gestured vaguely towards the Hall of Warriors. "Chores?"

"Yes! Chores!" His Master almost sighed in relief. "You know your way around."

Without waiting for an answer, he led his students away, leaving Tai Lung behind. Once he was certain that nobody was around to hear him, he snow leopard cursed loudly. "What was I thinking? Gah!" He barely resisted the urge to slam his fist into something solid - both because it would be unproductive and because he didn't feel like explaining broken benches, statues and walls later on. "Me? Bringing up _trust_ issues?" The feline smacked his forehead.

 _And to make matters worse, I suggested that trust would be an issue with his... his... whatever Tigress is to him. Daughter? I think I overheard that he adopted her, but neither of them really acts the part._ Without really thinking about it, Tai Lung went into the Hall of Warriors. Most of the damage of his fight with Master Shifu had been fixed, but the roof still had a sizable hole in it.

 _Most prized student, maybe? Or at least the most prized one if you leave out the one who snapped and attacked his Master._ He grimaced as he paced through the giant hall. _Okay, let's face the facts: You screwed up. Big time. And you now have roughly... an hour before Shifu comes back and things get all awkward and difficult again. So the question is..._ "What should I do?"

"You should fix the roof."

Tai Lung's jaw dropped. _That voice... but... it can't be..._

"It looks like it's going to rain today," the voice behind him casually continued. "Shifu would get mad if it rained into the sacred Hall of Warriors." A pause, followed by a chuckle. "Well, madder than usual."

"I... you..." Tai Lung slowly turned around, his eyes wide as saucers. "... _Master Oogway_?"

"Ah, good, you still recognize me, even after all these years..." The tortoise smiled softly and winked.

"B-b-but... you... you're..." The snow leopard's hands were waving uselessly as he was trying to find a good way of pointing out the obvious without sounding like a total retard.

"...dead?" Master Oogway helpfully finished the sentence, causing the feline to nod. "Hmmm..." He rubbed his chin. "Indeed, I am."

Tai Lung opened and closed his mouth. "You... but... how..." He shook his head, trying to ignore the utterly surreal nature of this situation for a moment. "Are you some sort of... ghost? Or did I just go completely insane?" _Maybe it's some sort of brain injury caused by all those times Shifu hit me with the stupid flute... Or maybe I'm dead already... oh, wouldn't that be a twist? Maybe Po did indeed kill me, and all of this is just some sort of last-second hallucination!_

Master Oogway slowly shrugged. "I could tell you, but that wouldn't ease your doubts, would it?"

"Okay, point," Tai Lung admitted. _I'd hardly believe my hallucination telling me that it's really a ghost - or vice versa._ "But then at least tell me why you're here. Or why I'm hallucinating that you're here." He resisted the temptation to rub his temples.

"Can't a Master pay his student a visit?"

 _Not when the student assaulted his Master during their last meeting, and also not when the Master died since then._ He hesitated. "You rarely visit anybody unless there is a reason." _Though, given my track record of the past_ and _the present, are you here to give me advice or to snap my neck?_

The tortoise gave him a gentle smile, just like Tai Lung remembered it. "You have done mostly well so far..."

Tai Lung's ear twitched. "I... have?" Then he frowned, despite the praise. "...mostly?"

"Shifu is upset." It wasn't an accusation, just a simple statement of fact.

"He often is," the snow leopard replied dryly, avoiding the obvious issue at hand.

"That he is..." His Master sighed. "Things had been easier in the past... Shifu and I tended to complement each other. When he pushed too far, I held him back. And when I would have hesitated for too long, he took the initiative."

"But now there's only him." Tai Lung crossed his arms in front of his chest, trying to look as if he had any clue where this was going.

"Mhhhh." Master Oogway slowly rubbed his chin, pretending to be deep in thought.

 _He's setting up something big._ The cat frowned deeply. _And I would feel a lot more comfortable knowing what it is._

"What this temple needs," Master Oogway finally continued, "is another Grand Master. Someone to restore balance."

"Oh sure, that's easy!" Tai Lung replied cheerfully. "We'll just ask around until we find someone who mastered every style of Kung Fu and who won't be intimidated by an irate red panda on a control tr-"

He froze.

Then went over what he had just said.

Finally gave Master Oogway a look. "You're joking."

The tortoise was looking thoroughly amused by Tai Lung's reaction. "Would you like to know what happened when I realized that you would break out of your prison?"

Tai Lung gestured slowly, trying to figure out if this question was related to the discussion so far in any way. When he found no connection, he bit his tongue and took a deep breath. _No use arguing over that. I'd just look like Shifu. Let's just play along and see where this is going._ "I... heard that the Dragon Warrior had been selected around that time?"

His Master nodded. "Shifu organized a large festival, with his five students showing everybody what they had learned. And they all _knew_ that at the end of the day, one of them would receive the Dragon Scroll."

"...until Po fell from the sky, right?"

Oogway smiled. "Until Po fell from the sky, yes. At which time I chose him to become the Dragon Warrior." He gave his student a long look. "Do you know why?"

Tai Lung took a deep breath. This was the question many people had likely asked Master Oogway after his decision. Smart people. Proud people. People who practically worshipped the Furious Five. People who thought that the Furious Five were perfect, unbeatable Kung Fu Masters. _Which they are not._ He blinked. "...because the others weren't ready to learn an ultimate technique?"

"But we both know by now that the Dragon Scroll does not contain an actual technique..." His Master smiled widely. "Try again."

He took a deep breath. "Because..." He closed his eyes, thinking back to the moment he had opened the scroll, and focusing on the feeling of _just not getting it_. His eyes widened. "Because they wouldn't have understood the lesson," he finally whispered. "None of them had ever been candidates, had they?"

"All of them could have been candidates _eventually_ ," Master Oogway replied with a quiet sigh, "but it would have taken years for them to achieve the insight needed to understand it."

Tai Lung started to pace, piecing together this new puzzle. "So you told Shifu that you would choose the Dragon Warrior, but none of them would have been ready by the time I arrived." _But that doesn't make any sense! It's suicide. A nonsense move._ "...did you _know_ that Po would crash into the ceremony?" When his Master gently shook his head, Tai Lung frowned again. "But... I don't understand... who would you have picked if Po hadn't been there?"

Master Oogway sighed deeply. "Nobody. Anybody. Zeng, maybe? It wouldn't really have mattered. It was never about choosing one of the Furious Five. It was about getting out of a no-win situation." When his student gave him a puzzled frown, he shrugged. "Sometimes, Tai Lung, you will find yourself in a situation in which every rational move will lead to an undesirable outcome." This time, he didn't have to pretend to be deep in thought. "Sometimes it is necessary to leap before you look. To do something that is at first glance _not_ rational - simply because doing so might lead to a better situation for you." He frowned deeply. "Shifu... would never consider such a move. He would never give up control over a situation, even if it was a hopeless one. That is why I had to intervene."

During the silence that followed, Tai Lung hurried to place these words into the larger context. _Sometimes it's necessary to let things spin out of control because that might open up a path to a better outcome. Isn't that what I did just now by suggesting that Shifu should train Tigress in the secret arts? So is he telling me that I did the right thing?_ He gave his dead Master a look, but then shook his head. _No. As much as I'd love to think that I got his approval, I somehow know that's not what Oogway wanted to tell me. Sure, I might be the best shot at keeping Shifu in check, but..._ He smiled softly. _But this isn't a hopeless situation. I was just overly eager and impatient. Again._

"I see you are beginning to understand," Master Oogway whispered and beamed. "Keep thinking along those lines, Tai Lung."

The snow leopard bowed deeply and gave the Kung Fu salute. "Thank you, Master Oogway." He heard a faint chuckle and looked up - only to realize that he was bowing in front of thin air. "Heh..."

Tai Lung took a deep breath and stretched. _Keep thinking along those lines... I guess I will. No need to contradict Shifu every time just because I would've done things differently._ Somewhere in the distance, the morning gong rang, making him smirk. _Although the others certainly wouldn't have minded if I had objected to Shifu's punishment. Leading someone with a hangover to the gong and then ringing it with full force... ah, sweet, painful memories..._

Suddenly, he froze. "He never actually told me if he was joking about the Grand Master part..."


	9. Nocturnal training

For Tigress, the major downside of a no-training phase was that she used far less energy than normal. _Which means that I also seem to need less sleep,_ she thought, turning this way and that on her thin mattress. _And the worst part is that my foot is actually fine! But Master Shifu insisted on two more weeks of rest! This is insane!_ She growled angrily. _I could totally train. Right now, even._

She blinked, then smirked. _Indeed. I could train right now. And nobody would know..._ Her eyes moved towards the window. She had never snuck out of her room before - _I'm a model student, after all!_ \- but Monkey and Crane had quite likely pulled it off, so she figured that it couldn't be _that_ hard.

Without making any noise, she unwrapped her bandages and lightly massaged her ankle. _Yep, good as new. Now... let's see just how well Master Shifu trained me..._ She got dressed and moved towards the window. It opened without making a sound, and Tigress jumped out after taking a quick look at her landing zone. "That was easy," she muttered looked over her shoulder to make sure that nobody had seen her. It took her a few minutes to sneak around the house and down the stairs to the courtyard, but Tigress estimated that she had at least two hours before she'd have to worry about going back.

 _Now what?_ she thought and gave the courtyard a look. _I guess I should warm up first. Gotta start out slow after a few weeks of no training._ She was about to start stretching her legs when a faint noise made her twitch. _That came from the training hall, didn't it?_ She grinned. _Could it be? Burglars? Is it my birthday already?_

Somebody breaking into the Jade Palace was always a special occasion for the Furious Five; after all, it was the one thing where their Masters had given them permission to deal with the situation as they saw fit. Or, as Master Oogway had put it in his infinite wisdom: "If somebody decides to rob this place, he is either very desperate or very foolish. I trust you to do the right thing in either case." Thankfully, Tigress only ever got the stupid ones while Monkey or Crane got the ones who would instantly give them some sob story and a cry for help.

She snuck up to the heavy door and placed her ear against it. _Yep, someone's in there. Odd, though; there is little to steal other than maybe the Jade Tortoise, and you'd need a small army to move that._ The thought of her actually walking in on such a group made her smile, but then she decided that this was a pretty unlikely scenario. "Well, let's find out who is looting the training hall and what they consider worth taking," she whispered to herself and tightened her grip on the door handle.

Years of training building up on her feline agility allowed her to open the door, slip into the hall, close the door and perform a quick somersault into a dark spot within just a few heartbeats. _So far, so good,_ she thought when she didn't hear any startled cries or quiet curses. In fact, she didn't hear anything. _Damn, did I alert them after all?_

She gave the room a once-over, relying on her ability to see better in the dark than most other species. _Not that it helps me right now since I apparently sent everybody into hiding-_ The sudden movement of one of the Wooden Warriors in the Gauntlet made her jump. _-or the intruder was just standing out of sight, completely oblivious to my presence._ Tigress moved silently across the deactivated obstacle course until she reached the area where all the spike-covered training dummies were standing.

 _This makes no sense, though,_ she mused as she inched through rows of wooden dummies. _The Wooden Warriors are bolted to the floor, so you can't steal them!_ It also didn't sound like anybody was training. _No further noises after that one move._ She frowned. _Almost as if somebody was-_ Her eyes widened, and she finished the thought just as the intruder put his hand on her shoulder: _As if somebody was luring me into a trap!_

Tigress instantly dropped to her right knee to prevent the intruder from grabbing properly her. Then, without wasting another breath, she pushed herself up again, bringing her left elbow around for a strike at the ribcage. _What the-_ she thought when her strike failed to connect. _He dodged?_ The Kung Fu Master finished her turn and brought her right fist forward to either hit the intruder or to make sure he was out of range to buy her some time.

"Easy now!" the intruder snapped even as he grabbed her wrist with both hands and deflected the blow. "Same side!"

Tigress noticed the spotted fur on the intruder's hands. "...Tai Lung?" She looked up at the smug snow leopard and quickly yanked her hand out of his grip. "What are you doing here?"

"Probably the same thing you wanted to do," he replied and shrugged. "Train while nobody was around."

"Pah," she crossed her arms. "I just heard some noise and wanted to check it out to make sure it wasn't a burglar."

"You heard some noise," he repeated and smirked, "all the way from your room?" Then he looked down at her feet. "And hey, just in time for your ankle to miraculously heal!"

"Okay, fine, you were right; happy now?" she hissed and rolled her eyes. "At least I'm actually allowed to," she added quietly and smirked when she noticed his annoyed expression.

For a few seconds, neither of them spoke. Finally, Tai Lung sighed. "Okay, it's pretty obvious that neither of us is supposed to be here, right? So why don't we declare a sort of truce for the time being?"

"Truce?" She cocked her head.

"You know. A length of time during which we won't try to needle and blackmail each other?"

 _Granted, he this would make sense, but that doesn't mean I like it._ "Sure, fine," she muttered. "Just don't get in my way, okay?"

"I'll be over there, then," he readily offered and pointed at the Adversary.

It took some willpower, but Tigress managed not to crack a silly remark about him training with an inflatable dummy made for children who just got started with Kung Fu. "Fine by me," she answered instead and went to the opposite wall to start with some warm-up exercises.

For almost half an hour, Tigress trained in relative silence. But despite her best efforts to ignore Tai Lung, she had to resist the urge to look at him over her shoulder. _Just to make sure he's still there and not trying to sneak up on me,_ she would tell herself, but it was a transparent lie. In reality, Tigress wanted to know what the snow leopard's training routine looked like. _How does a guy train who knows as many styles as he does?_

Finally, she gave in to her urges. _Just one quick peek. It'll be fine, he won't notice._ She sighed quietly. Curious glances normally weren't her style, but this was the one time she felt like making an exception. Just when her current set was done, she turned her head and looked over at the Adversary. "What the-" she muttered when she saw what Tai Lung was doing. Or rather, what he was _not_ doing. Tai Lung coughed sheepishly and rose from his lotus position, but it was too late. "You were _watching_ me!" Tigress shouted across the hall, as if to fully confirm that she had noticed him.

He shrugged and gestured vaguely at nobody in particular, looking a lot like Monkey whenever he had been caught with one hand in the cookie jar. "Well... yes," he finally admitted, giving her an apologetic smile.

"And you did that... why?" Tigress wasn't sure why she was so irritated by this, but she still made her way across the obstacle course to confront him.

"Maybe I did it," he said when she was standing right in front of him with her arms crossed, "because I wanted to see some Tiger style."

She growled quietly. "Yeah, right, like you had never seen-"

" _Natural_ Tiger style," he quickly clarified, looking a lot less intimidated than she had hoped he would.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She studied his features closely, trying to find the smallest clue that he was somehow messing with her.

"It means that it's refreshing to see Tiger style the way it's supposed to look, instead of just taking the word of a red panda for it," he replied calmly.

 _Oh, you've got to be kidding me! And to think that I kinda didn't completely hate him when he helped me out with that test a few weeks ago!_ "So you're saying that Master Shifu is a bad teacher?" _Just give me an excuse to strike you down... I dare you..._

Tai Lung blinked and frowned, apparently sensing what she was about to do. "Master Shifu is the greatest Kung Fu master currently alive," he told her flatly and rolled his eyes. "But there is a difference between practicing your natural style of Kung Fu and one tailored after the natural movements of another species. Master Shifu's Tiger style will look different than mine, and that will look slightly different than yours."

Tigress's whiskers twitched lightly when she realized that Tai Lung - of course - knew her style. _Actually kinda curious how that'd look, come to think of it..._ "Well, then," she said, trying to buy some time while she decided where to go from here, "you watched me. Happy?"

He shrugged lazily. "Reasonably, yeah."

 _Why do I get the feeling that he got along with Master Oogway more than with Master Shifu? There is NO way Master Shifu would have enjoyed this vague and smarmy style._ She gave him a closer look. _Or maybe he's just doing it to annoy me. Yeah, that actually sounds likely. Whatever. See if it works. Jerk._ "Reasonably, huh?" she finally echoed. "Well, would you like to watch it from a closer distance?"

"There is no need to go out of your way just to-" he started to reply, but froze when he realized that she was assuming her base stance. "Oh. You mean _this_ close?"

"Unless you're afraid..." She gave him a smirk.

"It's been decades since I've done this, but fine. Would you like to take turns, or do you want a sparring match?" He held up his hands, but Tigress wasn't quite sure if the gesture was supposed to mean 'hit here' or 'not going to hurt you'.

 _Sparring match, all-out!_ her inner voice instantly suggested, but she willed herself not to say it. _No. I may be itching for a rematch after the bridge fight, but this is NOT the time or place for it. Besides, Master Shifu is definitely going to realize what happened if both of us are bandaged in the morning._ "Let's take turns," she suggested instead. "Not going to go full out, don't worry."

"Got it," he replied and took a step back. Then he frowned lightly, as if in thought.

"Are you ready?" she asked, lowering her center of gravity a little bit to ready herself for her opening move.

The snow leopard gave her a quick look before spreading his arms out wide. "Sure, go ahead."

Tigress had to reign back her instinct to strike. _Something's wrong! This doesn't look like any stance he used on the bridge. He's still standing upright, he didn't clench his fists, and the position of his arms almost reminds me of... wings?_ Her eyes widened when she realized that the pose looked _extremely_ familiar. _Oh, you think you're so funny, huh?_ She quickly moved forward and fired off her first two punches. As expected, her arms brushed along his, but instead of blocking her attack, he merely deflected it by moving his arms in a wide circle.

"You see what I meant about styles looking slightly different when it's not the natural user performing it?" he asked even as he deflected a kick aimed at his head.

"Crane is going to get mad if he sees you imitating his style!" she snapped between two attacks, reminding herself to hold back a bit even if Tai Lung's chosen style should make power a moot point. _He may be able to deflect most regular attacks with Crane style, but it would be fairly awkward if I accidentally got lucky and broke his arm..._

"He should feel honored that I decided that his style is a good counter to yours," he replied even while he was deflecting another two blows.

Tigress allowed herself a rare smile. "Tell me about it. Master Shifu _loves_ to pair us up when he wants to aggravate me." As if to compensate for the smile, she slightly increased the speed on her last few strikes, forcing Tai Lung to fall back.

"Well, it's good training, I suppose..." Tai Lung managed to reply as he blindly navigated backwards.

"Could!" A left-handed strike faster and stronger than the others smacked away his right hand. "Be!" Her right leg came up to prevent his left hand from covering his front. "Worse!" Before he had any chance to react, her right fist stopped an inch away from his chest, almost close enough for her fur to touch his.

For several moments neither of them spoke or move. Tai Lung - much to Tigress's pleasure - seemed to be genuinely shocked, looking down at her outstretched arm and then back into her eyes. "Not going to go full out, huh?" he finally asked, taking a short step back and smoothing his fur.

"You're still standing, aren't you?" she asked back and gave him a calm smile. On the inside however, she was kicking herself for this stunt: _What was that all about? That was way beyond the normal taking-turns training! Not really all-out, but still._ She took a deep breath, hoping that he would just assume that it was some sort of post-training exercise. _But... no, no. This was just me blowing off some steam. Two weeks without training just made me overcompensate. No harm done. Now I'm balanced again. Yeah._

"Do I get a turn, then?" Tai Lung finally asked, either not realizing that Tigress had briefly crossed the line or accepting that she had needed to vent.

She hesitated briefly, but then nodded. "Go right ahead," she told him, trying to mask her excitement. _A chance to see his fighting style in action? A chance to actually study it without having to worry about falling to death? Yes, please!_

Both of them moved into position: Tigress raised one hand above her head while keeping the other in front of her, while Tai Lung dropped into a crouching position, his arms wide. Tigress quickly reminded herself that she wasn't supposed to attack beyond token movements to cue defending stances and gave him a short nod.

The first thing she noticed was that Tai Lung was a lot faster than she had expected. Not faster in terms of moving his arms or legs, but in the way he performed strike after strike after strike at close distance while moving around her. Tigress realized that the style looked like an odd cross between Crane and Tiger style, deflecting and circling like a crane, but then using the deflecting arm or leg to attack like a tiger. The strikes - elbows, knees, fists, nothing was off-limit - were fast, but even though Tai Lung of course held back, Tigress estimated that they wouldn't be as powerful as her own. _Still, impressive._ And then another thought hit her. _This isn't the style he used on the bridge!_

Tigress's open-palm strike came out of nowhere, hitting Tai Lung's upper body and sending the more muscular cat straight to the floor. "What the-" he shouted, but then coughed violently. The strike hadn't been too strong, but still strong enough to rattle him.

"WHAT WAS THAT?" Tigress roared at him, not caring at this point about who might hear them.

Tai Lung slowly got back to his feet, rubbing his chest. "So much for taking turns then," he muttered and gave her a dark look.

"That wasn't Leopard style!" she snapped, ignoring his words and her feelings of guilt for the moment. _I can apologize for shoving him around later, once he stopped playing his little games!_

"You hit me because you think you know Leopard style better than the guy who practiced it for a few decades?" He gave her a smirk. "Really, Stripey, you disappoint me."

 _Okay, when you put it like that..._ "Don't call me 'Stripey'," she tried to sound serious, but a tiny smile still made it through.

"Or else what?" he asked playfully even as he lowered himself into his base position again.

 _The question is whether he will fight the way he did on the bridge or with what he just claimed to be Leopard style. Ah well, I bet I can make him fall back to the more powerful style..._ "Or else I'm going to make you crawl back to your little cave."

"I'd like to see you try... _Stripey_." He was openly grinning now, and she gave him a brief smirk in return before pushing herself off the ground.

Just like the fight on the bridge, this sparring session was a close-range brawl. _Except that he's still not showing his true style!_ Tigress thought and pushed him away after he had landed yet another surprise blow to an unprotected spot. _Though I'll give him that: Whatever this style is, it's annoying! Acrobatics I'd expect from Monkey, deflecting blows in a way that would make Crane proud, but when he strikes, he's almost rivaling my own power._

"Heh..." Tai Lung was panting by now, but still looked slightly amused. "I think we should stop now, or Master Shifu will definitely notice signs of fatigue tomorrow morning."

"You can give up if this weird style exhausts you so much," Tigress offered and slipped into her base stance again.

"It's called Leopard style, you know?" he tried to convince her again and gave her a desperate look.

"It's not what you used on the bridge."

The good mood was almost instantly driven out of the room the moment she had finished the sentence. "...so what?"

 _Well, it's good to know that I'm not the only one who prefers not to think too much about that particular fight... But if this is really Leopard style, then what did he use back then? It was similar, but more powerful..._ "Nothing... just noting..."

Tai Lung growled, baring his teeth. "Fine," he hissed before launching a new attack.

 _Now what?_ Tigress thought when she realized that she was falling back. The snow leopard's attacks still used the same basic movements, but somehow, there was more force behind them now. _Well, what do you know, this is a lot more like his style on the bridge!_ She pushed back against his attacks, trading an elbow strike into her side against the opportunity to launch her counterattack. _I'll have to research these style variations later._

It was, overall, an even battle. Aside from a few throws or leaps, neither fighter gave in more than a few steps at a time. Of course, it was also _slightly_ beyond the boundaries of regular sparring, and Tigress knew that she'd have to explain a few cuts and bruises to Master Shifu in the morning, but this was doing more for her inner balance than-

"GAH!" Tai Lung went down hard, and Tigress blinked because he instantly clutched his left leg, which she hadn't targeted.

"Got him!" someone cried, and Tigress finally noticed Monkey standing slightly behind Tai Lung, staff in hand. "Mantis!" Before she could react, Tai Lung hit the nearby wall after the smallest of the Furious Five had grabbed him by his ankle.

"You okay?" Crane quietly asked as he made his way past her, as if to shield her against some stray attack.

 _As if - his wing's getting better, but he's not in fighting condition yet!_ "What are you guys doing?" she hissed, still unable to take her eyes off the combined efforts of Monkey and Mantis.

"We can talk later," Crane replied, "but now let's just get out here before Tai Lung-" His reply was cut off by the very thing he had been hoping to avoid: Tai Lung let out a furious roar as he prepared to strike back against this sneak attack.

Much to his credit, Monkey didn't flinch or jump away. Instead, he swung his staff at the snow leopard, who was now back on his feet in something vaguely resembling the Leopard base stance Tigress had seen earlier. However, he didn't move in a way Tigress would have expected of his style at this point - instead of a deflecting movement, he just struck out against the staff, pointing his index finger straight at it. Tigress's hand had once been on the receiving end of Monkey's staff, and even today, the memory made her cringe. _And he's going to hit it with just one finger? Ouch._

But instead of the expected sound of a finger being broken mercilessly, there was just a split-second glow at the spot where Tai Lung's finger hit the staff, followed by Monkey's weapon exploding in a shower of shrapnel.

 _WHAT IN THE NAME OF ALL GREAT MASTERS WAS THAT?_ Tigress had ducked instinctively, avoiding most of the splinters flying her way. When she dared to look up again, Tai Lung and Monkey were already circling each other in their respective base stances. Mantis, oddly enough, had vanished from the fight. _This can't end well..._

"Anybody see what hit me?" Mantis's voice finally came from somewhere close to her feet. "Felt as if the air itself pushed me away, but I don't think it was related to that explosion..."

"It must've been some advanced technique, in league with that paralyzing strike he used back then," Crane speculated before giving her a look. "What were you thinking, taking him on all by yourself?"

"It wasn't... I mean..." Tigress's answer trailed off when she took a closer look at the fight between Monkey and Tai Lung. _This... this is it!_ she suddenly realized. _That's the style he used on the bridge!_ And now, observing it from the outside after having seen what Tai Lung had called Leopard style, she also realized what exactly it was. _It's... Leopard style... driven entirely by anger. A lot less technique, a lot more rage. A completely bastardized style of Kung Fu... and I had actually asked for it! Stupid!_ "That can wait; we need to stop this!" she hissed and tried to push Crane out of the way.

Tai Lung of course hadn't idled while Tigress analyzed his style. And while Monkey was one of the best Kung Fu warriors in all of China, fighting an enraged master of all styles all by himself just couldn't end well. _Minor miracle that there is still a fight I can stop!_ Tigress told herself even while Tai Lung grabbed Monkey by the back of his neck in an apparent attempt to drive him into the ground. _Ten steps,_ Tigress quickly estimated her distance to the two warriors even as she started her dash. _Not going to work! Hesitated way too long!_

Tigress knew that there was nothing she could do to save Monkey, but she still felt that she had to try. _Just like I had to try and fight Tai Lung on the bridge. A fight I deep down knew I couldn't win, and yet... yet..._ Nine steps. She wouldn't even make it halfway to them before the impact. _So much anger in his eyes... Why did I have to egg him on? Why did I have to scream at him? Why did the others have to intervene? If this had remained a one-on-one, maybe... maybe..._ Eight steps. _Oh, who am I kidding? I wasn't as balanced as I had told myself. I wanted to prove to myself that I could win a rematch. And I was doing all I could to get it. It would've been merely a question of time before our sparring had escalated by itself._ Seven steps. _Master Shifu is going to be damn lonely after he kicks us all out._

"NO!" It was what Tigress should have shouted, but thankfully, somebody else had both the presence of mind to do it as well as the speed and agility to further interrupt Tai Lung's movement during the resulting split second of hesitation. Just like on the bridge, Viper had leapt at Tai Lung and quickly wrapped herself around his arm. "LET HIM GO!" the snake screamed even as she bent the arm backwards using just her body as leverage.

Tai Lung let go of Monkey, who quickly dragged himself away. _Okay, now to save Viper from being-_ Tigress thought, but then realized that neither Tai Lung nor Viper were moving. Instead they were apparently trying to stare each other down, Tai Lung baring his teeth and Viper brandishing her fangs.

 _If she bites him..._ Tigress shuddered. She had heard rumors about Viper's family, but any attempt to bring this up during their conversations had resulted in Viper rapidly changing the subject. _Still, I'm willing to bet that there is at least some substance to those rumors. Which means that we'd have to explain a feverish Tai Lung to Master Shifu in the best case._

"That'll be quite enough."

Behind her, Crane, Mantis and Monkey groaned in unison, and Tigress had to fight the urge to scream. _Of all the things that could go wrong tonight!_ She gritted her teeth and slowly turned around. "Master Shifu, I can-"

Her laughable attempt at an excuse was cut short when the red panda simply whacked her shin with his flute as he walked past her. "You two," he calmly addressed Tai Lung and Viper, who were still locked in their stare down, "cut it out."

It took long seconds, but finally, gradually, Tai Lung relaxed while Viper retracted her fangs. Only when both warriors had taken a deep breath did they break their eye contact to look at Master Shifu.

"Good," their Master commented drily, and Tigress braced herself for the inevitable rant.

 _Anything under eternal banishment will be a very good outcome, all things considered,_ she thought and tried to compose herself. _Though I should shoulder most of the blame. The others were just trying to defend me, and it would be unfair to have them get in trouble because I let unauthorized sparring get out of hand._ "Master Shifu, please allow me to-"

This time, her explanation attempt was cut short not by his flute, but by something far more unexpected, and somewhat more terrifying: Master Shifu was laughing quietly. "Oh, Tigress... do you think that you would still be standing there if you were in as much trouble as you think you are?"

"...I'm not?" she asked timidly, not used to this side of the man who raised her without ever cracking a smile like that. In the background, Tai Lung crouched slightly to let Viper jump onto the ground more easily, and Tigress couldn't help but notice that he too was concerned about this unexpected mood.

"Oh, no, no, no..." The red panda's chuckle was slightly unnerving at this point. "Sure, I _could_ punish you by our regular standards, but what would that achieve, other than everybody but Po having to look for a new home?" He hesitated. "...where _is_ Po, actually?"

Her friends were coughing sheepishly. "We... kinda let him sleep," Monkey finally admitted. "You know... to cover for our absence."

Master Shifu actually forgot to keep up his mysterious smile as he just stared at Monkey, trying to derive sense from his words. Monkey grinned nervously and looked at the others.

"We... left a note with him," Crane finally spoke up. "It's..." He slowly moved his wings from left to right and back again, but then just shook his head. "Never mind."

"It's a confession that he ate us," Monkey finally admitted, covering his face with one hand.

"So you woke up," Master Shifu said, "realized that Tigress was gone, figured that she was in trouble..." He frowned deeply. "But then not only decided to come to her rescue without the Dragon Warrior, but also to take the time and write down the most ridiculous lie ever since that time Crane tried to convince me he couldn't hear the morning gong because he wasn't wearing his hat?"

"Would you believe that it made sense at the time?" Mantis asked from his usual spot on Monkey's shoulder.

Instead of answering, Master Shifu just rubbed his temples. "We will talk about your behavior under pressure at some later point. For now, I will only focus on two of you." He looked from Tigress to Tai Lung. "You know what's coming, don't you?" he asked the snow leopard in his sweetest voice. Tai Lung frowned briefly, but then groaned loudly, making his old Master chuckle again. "I see you _do_ remember the good old times. And because I'm sure that Tigress and the others have some catching up to do, you can even go first!"

"Yes, Master Shifu," Tai Lung intoned lifelessly and shook his head in defeat before slouching towards the exit.

"Excellent, we will meet in the sitting room in five minutes," Master Shifu announced and started to lead the way. "Tigress, you're next, so do stay close. Everybody else is free to go."

"Hold on." Tigress stopped Tai Lung when he was walking past her and quickly checked to make sure that her Master was already out of the training hall. "What's going to happen?" _If even the former model student looks absolutely crushed by what's about to happen, then I'd like to at least have a hint before I go in there!_

He gave her a look and grinned drily. "Tea time, Stripey."


	10. Tea time

"Tea time?" Tigress asked herself, but then realized that Tai Lung was already walking towards the house Master Shifu had entered. "Hey, wait!"

"What?" he groaned and gave her a look over his shoulder.

 _Whatever is coming, it must be bad. Really bad. And I'd like to know what to expect!_ "What is tea time?"

He stopped and turned around, giving her a long squint. "Wow, you really don't know, do you? How did you manage to avoid things like the apple test or tea time for so long?"

"Yeah, strange how all this punishment is only being inflicted on us now that you're back," she said and gave him a short glare.

He smirked. "Cute."

"So?" she asked impatiently.

He sighed dramatically. "Tea time. You and Master Shifu will sit at a table in the sitting room. There will be lots of talking going on. And you have to drink at least a cup of tea."

"...and?" She blinked. So far, this sounded a lot less worse than normal punishment. _Maybe he's just spoiled and thinks that this is bad._

"And it's really bad tea," Tai Lung added, giving her an uncertain look.

Tigress chuckled. _What a joke!_ "D'awwwwwwwww," she mocked him and patted his head, "is widdle Tai Lung scared of a tiny cuppy of tea?" She wasn't sure what was worse - the murderous glare Tai Lung was giving her or the stunned silence behind her as her friends had abruptly stopped bickering. _Oh wow, that crossed the line, didn't it?_

He looked at her, then past her. Finally, a cruel smirk appeared on his face. "Your friends wouldn't be fast enough to save you, Tigress," he whispered, and she of course knew he was right. "But I'm in enough trouble already, and if I harm you, you might use your injuries as an excuse to avoid this punishment." He slowly moved his face closer to hers and lowered his voice even more. "And I absolutely refuse to be the only one to face tea time."

"If you say so." Every rational part of her brain told her to back off. Maybe not to apologize or to admit that the remark had been stupid, but definitely to retreat a bit. A little bit at least. _Yeah, right,_ her emotional side countered, _as if I'd show weakness to this jerk._ She narrowed her eyes, well aware that she was sending additional aggressive signals. _Not the best conditions for a fight, but I'm game._

The two felines glared at each other for a few long seconds, waiting for even the tiniest sign of an opening, considering and discarding plans for a first attack. Yet somehow, neither of them heard Master Shifu approaching. "Once you two are done antagonizing each other, please remember that the tea is ready," the red panda muttered and whacked Tigress's shin with his flute for emphasis. Judging by the way Tai Lung grimaced along with her, she hadn't been the flute's only victim.

"Yes, Master Shifu," both of them sighed in perfect unison before taking a step away from each other.

"Jerk," she muttered once Tai Lung had left them to follow his Master into the sitting room. "Okay, I think we have a few minutes before it's my turn." She turned around and blinked when she found her friends just staring at her. "Now what?"

"Are you _mental_?" Monkey hissed, gesturing at the house.

"If you're that desperate to get yourself killed, you should've just said so; then we could've stayed asleep," Mantis commented drily. "You know, since freaks like us prefer living and sleeping over dying pointlessly in the middle of the night."

Tigress sighed. _This would be so much easier to rebut if it wasn't closer to the truth than I'd prefer..._ "This wasn't what I had had in mind. I just wanted to train a bit."

"And then you ran into Tai Lung?" Crane asked.

"And then I ran into Tai Lung, yes. And we... sparred."

Her four friends exchanged looks. "That... didn't really look like sparring," Crane finally muttered. "In related news, you're bleeding."

She raised her right arm, following his gestures. "That doesn't even need a bandage," she told him and rolled his eyes. When he just gave her a look, she sighed. "Okay, fine, it was more than sparring. But it had started as just that."

"And who escalated it?" Viper asked.

"Who died and made you Grand Master?" Tigress instantly hissed, then held up her hands. "Sorry, sorry, I'm just... things just didn't go too well tonight." She sat down and took a deep breath. Her friends quickly sat down around her, forming a loose circle. "Ever since my fight on the bridge, I wanted to prove to myself that it had been a fluke. That he had just gotten lucky and that I could overcome his style under normal circumstances."

"So you challenged him?" Crane asked calmly, politely not mentioning how the five of them had had to work together to at least _temporarily_ defeat Tai Lung in what must have been the mother of all flukes.

"No. Yes. No." Tigress gently massaged her forehead. "I wanted to train and to observe. You know. Study his style while I'm not risking my life to protect all that I hold dear."

"Then what went wrong?"

She frowned. "He didn't seem to use Leopard style, but rather a weird mix between Tiger and Crane style. So I thought he was just messing with me, and I pushed his buttons a bit."

Monkey gave Crane a look, then tapped his chin. "So you made him angry, things escalated, and then we came along?"

"Yes, and that fully pushed him over the edge." Tigress sighed. "And the worst part is that I had been wrong."

"About which part exactly?" Viper asked.

The snake was looking slightly more agitated than Tigress thought was justified, but then another thought crossed her mind: _She's not just moody because I almost got everybody hospitalized. Why do I get the feeling that this is about her short confrontation with Tai Lung?_ "I admit I screwed up in many ways tonight, but here I was talking about his style. That weird Tiger-Crane style had been real Leopard style."

"Wait, so what was the style he had used on the bridge and just now?" Mantis asked and cocked his head.

Tigress took a deep breath. "Leopard style - after two decades of focusing on nothing but his hate. The angrier he got tonight, the more his style slipped away from technique and towards incoherent rage."

"No wonder Master Shifu selected some special punishment for you," Monkey finally said after a few seconds of silence. "You messed up Tai Lung's recovery."

"I wasn't exactly the only one!" Tigress instantly hissed and got up onto her knees, ready to pounce.

"Well, you don't see us on the list of students who will be punished," Monkey teased her, but the way he held himself suggested that he was ready to counter her attack.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Crane quickly placed himself between the two bickering Kung Fu Masters.

"Let's take it easy," Viper told Tigress while Mantis was talking some sense into Monkey in the background. "You can kill him later when there are fewer witnesses, okay?"

Tigress allowed herself a brief smirk. "Fine, since you asked nicely..."

"That's better," Viper replied and smiled. "The real question is what we'll do now, right?"

"You guys should go back to bed," Tigress suggested. "Master Shifu will kill us if everybody but Po ends up being sleep-deprived tomorrow. I'll follow once my lame punishment is over."

Crane, Mantis and Viper nodded slowly. Only Monkey was scratching his head. "Are you sure it's going to be lame? Tai Lung looked fairly devastated..."

"It's tea and chatting." Tigress gave him a look. "Seriously, how bad could it be? Tai Lung is probably just spoiled and thinks this is the worst Master Shifu can do."

Monkey and the others exchanged nervous glances. Before he could question her assessment any more, however, Viper spoke up: "Maybe he's right." Her tongue nervously flicked out. "Something's not right. We almost killed each other there, so why would he pick a light punishment?"

"Well..."

"So the worst thing that could happen would be to walk in unprepared, right?" Viper was looking unexpectedly bold, and Tigress again had a feeling that things were slightly more personal than the others realized.

"Well..." she repeated, this time with a little less certainty.

"Great, so it's settled then!" And with that, the snake darted into a small opening in the wall.

"What the-" Tigress started, then gave the others a pleading look.

Mantis made soothing gestures. "Relax, she'll be fine. The houses weren't built with small people like her or me in mind, so there are plenty of gaps and hollow areas behind walls. She'll listen in for a while and then get out again."

"And you think Master Shifu doesn't _know_?" Tigress hissed quietly, suddenly afraid that even the tiniest sound would summon her Master. _We're in enough trouble already, and Viper goes out and_ spies _on him?_ "This is a complete disaster," she muttered, suddenly feeling weak.

"Oh come on, it's not _that_ bad," Monkey told her and gave the others a quick look. When he saw their doubting looks, he rolled his eyes. "Well, at least I'm sure we've been through worse, right?"

 _How did everything spin out of control like that? What changed?_ Tigress blinked, trying to pinpoint a reason other than 'Tai Lung is to blame for everything!' - even if that was a very compelling argument. _No... no. I lost control. Not just over myself, but over the others, too. I used to be the one the others followed, but now that I've been doing my own thing, it all fell apart. Maybe it's time that I fill that role again._ She nodded to herself and stood up. "Okay, focus, people! Let's work on minimizing the damage. You three should go back to bed. At least some of us should get some rest before we're all half dead tomorrow." While the others were getting up, she mentally went over the events of this night again. "Oh, and Crane, make sure Po won't find his little fake confession in the morning."

"What about Viper?" Monkey asked, accepting Tigress's leadership without question. In fact, he seemed happy to know that she was slipping back into her natural position at the top.

"Don't remind me," Tigress sighed. "If she manages to get out unseen, I'll just send her your way, too."

"And what if not?"

"Who knows? Maybe Shifu has some more tea to spare." She waved her hand. "Just go."

Waiting for her ominous punishment was easier once she was alone. Tempting as it, taking a nap was out of the question, so Tigress settled for the next best thing and slipped into a lotus position. _I am one with the world. The world is one with me._ As her focus increased, her heartbeat and breathing fell into a familiar, slow rhythm. _I am one with the world. The world is one with me._ It was one of the simpler and - in her opinion - sillier mantras Tigress had come up with during her years at the Jade Palace, but it was perfect for quickly calming down and regaining control. _I am one with the world. The world is one with me._ Breathe in, breathe out.

"Crap, crap, crap!"

Viper's voice made her snap out of her meditation, and Tigress had to shove away her impulsive thoughts about turning the snake's skin into a fancy pair of gloves. _Focus!_ she instead told herself. _How much time has passed? Couple of minutes? Less than half an hour, surely._ "What is it?" she finally asked and opened her eyes.

"Pretty sure I got caught!" Viper hissed and quickly took a look at the door, as if expecting it to explode any second.

 _Wow, what a complete surprise,_ Tigress thought and rolled her eyes. _Never saw it coming!_ She took a closer look at the panicking snake. "Does your paint job have anything to do with it, by any chance?"

"Paint?" Viper asked her and blinked. Then she looked down at her now almost completely black body and cursed. Loudly.

"I'll take that as a yes." _What are the odds that Master Shifu will blame me for this? I'll happily admit to be responsible for at least half the stuff that happened tonight, but this? No way._

"Oh shoot, he knew, he knew... he knows!" Viper was panting now, and her pupils were dilated. "Maybe I can frame Mantis? No, no, no..."

"Viper!" Tigress hissed, snapping her fingers in front of her friend's eyes. _If Master Shifu does know, we only have seconds! And if he catches her like this, he might just lose it._ "Listen to me, Viper! You need to leave. Wash this paint off and go to bed. You hear me? Wash, sleep. In that order."

Her friend's eyes finally focused on her. "Wash, sleep," she repeated and nodded. "Wash, sleep. Yeah, I can do that..." She nodded again, this time more eagerly. "Okay, gotta go!"

Moments after the snake had jumped head-first into a bush nearby - Tigress was sometimes jealous of the way Viper's small build allowed her to take various shortcuts - the door was pushed open. Even before she turned around, Tigress knew that Tai Lung was standing behind her now: Master Shifu never opened doors with force like that. _Okay, girl, act as if nothing happened._

"Where is she?" Tai Lung drawled.

"I have no idea who-" Tigress turned around and blinked. "You look like crap."

The snow leopard was leaning heavily against the door frame, looking as if he might drop dead at any moment. "I'm fine," he lied. "Where is Viper?"

Just as Tigress was going to tell him to jump off a cliff, her Master appeared behind Tai Lung. "Go on, Tigress, tell him," Master Shifu casually ordered her. "It'll be fine, trust me."

She briefly exchanged glances with the red panda before looking at Tai Lung again. "She... er... needed some warm water. So I guess she's in the kitchen or the bath."

"Thanks," Tai Lung muttered, pushed himself away from the door, and stumbled past her into the darkness.

 _He's acting. Just to make me nervous about this tea time business._ "Are you sure about this, Master?"

Master Shifu chuckled quietly. "Quite sure, Tigress. As Master Oogway tended to say, we're all connected - it often just takes us a while to realize it."

"I'm pretty sure Master Oogway never said that," Tigress said, "but I'm about as confused as I usually was after one of his cryptic remarks."

"Come." He snapped his fingers and calmly led the way inside. "Let us talk."

As she entered the sitting room, Tigress realized that she had never been in here before. In fact, she hadn't really been aware that this room _existed_. Of course, a brief look around told her that even if she had known about it, she wouldn't have cared: her taste in interior decoration was biased heavily in favor of practical and functional things. The sitting room was essentially the polar opposite of this, being stuffed with cushions and colorful decorations that served no other purpose beyond being pretty. _Yegh. And wow, even silly drawings pinned to the wall!_ "...huh?" she went at that last part. The drawings were definitely out of place in this room since they were of low artistic quality and generally looked, well, childish.

"Ah, those," Master Shifu muttered, as if noticing them for the first time in years.

"Who drew these?" Tigress asked, narrowing her eyes at them. _Did I draw them? Surely not. I don't think I had ever been the type of girl who'd draw pictures with a happy sun literally smiling down at a bunch of stick figures._

"Tai Lung did."

The words made Tigress inhale sharply, and she had to resist the urge to shred them with a swing of her claws. _Easy, easy. Be diplomatic about this._ "And... you kept them pinned to this wall even after Tai Lung..." _Betrayed you? Tried to destroy the village? Went completely nuts and had to be imprisoned? Escaped from there? Tried to murder you?_ "...grew up?"

"He wasn't always bad," Master Shifu whispered, suddenly standing right behind Tigress, balancing on a staff to be able to look over her shoulder. Ignoring the way Tigress flinched in surprise, he went on, "I've told you about his childhood. Happier days."

"Those days are long gone," Tigress whispered back, looking straight into her Master's eyes, trying - and failing - not to glare.

He held her gaze, then slowly closed his eyes. "I guess we all cling to the past."

Master Shifu hopped off his staff and went to sit down on a cushion at a low table, leaving a puzzled Tigress behind. _Did he just agree with me, or was that some sort of lecture? Or maybe both?_ Still frowning, she followed her Master and sat down on a cushion on the other side of the table. It was a small table, barely large enough to offer space to four people, maybe. But it was definitely large enough for a pot of tea and two cups. _Tea time, Stripey,_ Tai Lung's words echoed inside her head.

She watched in silence as Master Shifu poured tea into the cups, almost completely filling each one. After putting the pot back onto its place in the middle of the table, he gave his cup a long look. "So, I see your ankle is fine!" he suddenly said and gave her an innocent smile.

"Yes, oh wonder of wonders," she snarked. "Healed up a lot faster than you-" She froze when she realized that his statement had been anything but innocent. _Hold on. I'm missing something here._ She frowned. _I've been so annoyed at being grounded that I never stopped to think about this, but... he never would have made such a bad call. My ankle was obviously fine, and yet he..._ "You knew," she finally muttered, feeling like the biggest idiot in all of China.

"Oh, please, you can do better than that." He smirked.

Her tail flicked back and forth. _Of course he knew that my ankle was fine. Yet he told me not to train. Why? Didn't he realize that sooner or later, I'd sneak out to-_ She grimaced, which only seemed to make her Master happier. _Okay, so he knew I'd sneak out to train, too. Planned for it, even. And come to think about it, it's terribly unlikely that Tai Lung would be able to just sneak in and out of the training hall every night without Master Shifu knowing about it. Which means..._ "...you set us up," she finally whispered, feeling drained by the realization that almost this entire evening had gone exactly according to her Master's plan. "You wanted me to run into Tai Lung tonight."

"You kids are so cute when you think you can outsmart me." Master Shifu chuckled. "Such as thinking that I'm not aware of all the hiding places between the walls."

"So the ink was not just a silly accident?"

"Don't you remember the old Sinner's Ink?"

She frowned and explored her childhood memories until... "Oh, you mean that time Monkey had dared me to steal from Master Oogway's cookie jar?" Back then, Monkey had been the only student at the Jade Palace aside from her. She had been the personal student of Master Shifu and he had been training under Master Oogway until Shifu had been ready to train both of them. "My hand had been black for weeks, and he had convinced me I had the _plague_."

"I'm dying, I regret everything!" Master Shifu mimicked her voice and cackled.

"Okay, okay, so you planned for me to meet Tai Lung," she quickly changed the subject, deciding to _never_ bring up this memory again and making a mental note to slap Monkey. "But... why?"

"Isn't it obvious?" he asked, becoming more serious again. "I needed to see what would happen."

She glanced down at the cup of tea. "Is this about bad Tigress being out of control again?"

"Hardly," he told her, and then followed her glance. "But while we're at it, why don't you try your tea? I'm sure Tai Lung told you that you can't leave unless your cup is empty, no matter whether the talk is over or not."

"Something like that, yes." She raised the cup to her lips. The tea smelled somewhat sweet, making her guess that honey or some sort of spice mix had been involved in the making of it. _I rarely drink sweet tea or tea I have never tried before. What a night to break with habits..._ She took a sip.

Her fist hit the table with enough force to make the pot jump an inch. "I take it you like it?" Master Shifu asked, ignoring Tigress's wild coughing.

"Ghhhhhhhhhh-" Tigress shuddered, wheezed, then shuddered again. _I'm dying. How quickly things have moved from threats of kicking me out to downright poisoning me._ She hit the table face-first - Master Shifu quickly took the cup out of her hand to avoid spills - and for long seconds, she tried to decide whether or not it was socially acceptable to puke onto the cushions. "Ghhhhaaaaa?" she finally asked.

"Didn't Tai Lung warn you?" her Master asked, now sounding mildly confused and concerned.

Tigress slowly pushed herself back into a sitting position. Dazed, she looked down at her hands and then at the table. _Oh, crap,_ she thought when she realized the fresh claw marks on the table. _Stupid instincts._ Then her gaze wandered to another set of claw marks nearby. The second set was a bit wider than hers, but not as deep. _Tai Lung. Good to know that we're not_ that _different._ "He..." She had to clear her throat. "He might've mentioned that the tea would be bad... but not that it'd be... _this_."

"Ahhhh, yes. My very special blend for very bad students." Master Shifu was obviously proud of having developed China's first weapon for all-out biological warfare. "Sweaty socks are involved."

Tigress's stomach churned. _He... used... his... wait, what?_ "But you don't wear socks!"

"That's what makes it so brilliant! Also, I will inform you that I kept this mixture in a sealed box since the last time I had to use it."

 _Since the last time? When was the last time? ...I never had to endure this punishment, and neither did the other four, or Po. Which means..._ She gave her cup - which was still almost full - a terrified look. _Which means that he prepared this mix some time before Tai Lung's imprisonment... decades ago... and tonight made tea from it._ "I'm pretty sure this qualifies as murder..."

"Only if you die. Which you won't." He smiled. "Trust me, this blend is carefully balanced to ensure survival, if nothing else."

"Hrgh..." She waved her hand, deciding that she'd happily sit through a lecture if it meant delaying the inevitable. "Anyway, where were we?"

Master Shifu steepled his fingers. "You were wondering why I arranged for you to meet Tai Lung, and I told you that I needed to see what would happen."

"Right, right... so?"

"You two are... similar in many aspects." He immediately held up a hand to cut off any protest. "You are both highly dominant and assertive. Comes with being an apex predator, I guess."

Tigress frowned at that last bit. It had been a while since Master Shifu had taught her about the food chain - a somewhat antiquated concept in a world where prey was living together with predators in cities and could simply hire people to deal with any predator stupid enough to give in to primal urges - but she still remembered enough about it to know that she was at the top, with nothing regarding her as food. _And being a fellow big cat, Tai Lung is also up there. Figures._

"I know Tai Lung, and I know you. And that's why I know that there is bound to be friction when you two are left together with nothing to keep you occupied. Of course, both of you are too polite to start major trouble as long as anybody is watching. But I needed to see what would happen if you met him in a place with no witnesses, so to speak."

She raised an eyebrow. "You make it sound like you were expecting us to try and kill each other."

"Nothing so drastic, but especially after what happened during the last few months, I had to make sure that you two wouldn't suddenly have any odd 'accidents' during your training."

"...ah." Tigress thought back to her sparring session. To the way she needled Tai Lung, provoked him more and more into perverting his natural style, just so she could have a rematch with the guy she had fought on the bridge. Hoping to have an all-out fight again, doubtlessly leading to either one of them bleeding all over the place. _And Master Shifu had been watching the entire thing._ "Right. I'll just go on and kill myself now." She picked up her cup and drained it in one go, tilting her head back and trying to minimize the time the vile fluid would spend inside her mouth.

It still made her topple over and caused her to dig her claws into one of the cushions as she fought hard not to throw up. "Success?" Master Shifu's voice came from somewhere in the distance. When she only replied by making a retching noise, he sighed. "When you are done fooling around, could we maybe talk seriously for a moment?"

 _Get up, Tigress. The least you can do is show some dignity, you foolish, impulsive girl! What were you thinking, drinking all that in one go?_ She clawed her way back up, not caring too much about additional marks on the table by now. "Just tell me how much trouble I'm in."

"It's not quite that simple. Or rather, I could make it simple, but that wouldn't really help anybody."

"Oh good, judging by the way I feel and the way nothing I hear makes any sense, I must have died and am now having tea in the afterlife with Master Oogway." By now, she had at least managed to sit back up straight again.

"What I'm saying," Master Shifu explained and sighed, "is that both you and Tai Lung behaved better than I had feared, overall."

Tigress gave him a look. "But...?" Instead of answering, Master Shifu held up a small, wooden playing piece. Tigress's eyes widened when she recognized it. _That's one of the pieces Master Shifu used to teach me control all the way back in the orphanage!_ As a rule, Tigress didn't like thinking about her childhood. Not because she had spent most of it training under a Master who would constantly compare her to his first child of sorts, but rather because her time before moving into the Jade Palace had not been too pretty. _Everybody in that orphanage regarded me as a monster. Rightfully so, even, given how little control I had over my strength. I just wanted to play... make friends... but I just hurt people and caused endless property damage._ Her eyes narrowed as she looked at the playing piece. _At least until Master Shifu had come along and taught me how to control my strength. He gave me these fragile wooden pieces and didn't stop lecturing me until I could handle them without breaking or scratching any. And only then did he invite me into the Palace._ "I thought this _wasn't_ about bad Tigress being out of control again?"

He gave her a thin smile. "Catch," he simply said and threw the piece up into the air.

She gave the wooden piece a look as it flew upwards. When it reached its highest point above the table, she lazily snatched it out of the air. "Surprise, surprise, it looks just like it did before," she told him, balancing the piece on her outstretched palm.

Master Shifu didn't stop smiling, and Tigress got the horrible feeling that despite succeeding, she had somehow failed. "Thank you for proving the point I was trying to make."

"What?" She frowned and gave the piece a closer look. Indeed, there was not a single scratch on it. "You told me to catch, and I caught it."

"Indeed," he admitted, still smiling. "Ah well, I'm sure it'll come to you. Drink up."

 _Drink up?_ "I just emptied my cup, Master Sh-" She looked down at her cup... which was filled to the brim again. "What the..." She blinked, her mind trying to process what had just happened. _Did he... he did just fill up my cup in the second it took me to catch that piece, didn't he?_ The student gave her Master a look. "What are you trying to prove here? That you're faster than me? We both knew that much..."

The smile vanished from Master Shifu's face. "This wasn't about speed, Tigress, it was about your failure to notice something that was happening right under your nose! This never would have- never _could_ have happened months ago. I taught you to always observe your surroundings to the point where you were able to block an attack by somebody standing behind you!"

"To be fair, it's kinda late, and this tea-"

He silenced her with a glare. "Your mind is elsewhere, Tigress. Not just now. And I think we both know what is keeping you preoccupied."

She sighed. "Fine, guilty as charged. It's just-... he's aggravating me!"

"No, he's not," Master Shifu countered. "His victory at the bridge is."

"BECAUSE IT WAS CHEAP!" She surprised herself with that outburst, and for long seconds, neither of them spoke. "I... apologize, Master." _I take it all back, this isn't a silly or lame punishment - it's perfectly horrible for idiots like me._ Without even thinking about it, she picked up her cup again and emptied it in one go. This time, she managed to stay upright, but only just barely. But while she managed to remain still, the room started to move. _Oh wow, this can't be good,_ she thought as she eyed the far wall, which now seemed to be pulsating slowly.

"Don't worry, I have been proven right in louder ways before." The lightest trace of a smile appeared on his face again. "When you go back to your room, I want you to pack your bags." He quickly held up his hand when he saw her jaw drop. "You will be going on a short trip, nothing permanent or drastic."

She slowly closed her mouth again and frowned. "What kind of trip? ...and why?"

"I think it's time you paid the Sacred Pool of Tears a second visit."

 _...ahu._ Her frown deepened. The Sacred Pool of Tears, commonly known as the birthplace of Kung Fu, was the location where Master Shifu had taught her the basics of Tiger Kung Fu. The same applied to her four friends and, from what she had heard, Po, too. For a moment, she was extremely tempted to ask what she would be doing there, but something told her that she would not get a satisfying answer. _Either it's all about the journey itself, or something to do with enlightenment. Or friendship. Or... yeah, right._ She grimaced.

"Now what is wrong?" Master Shifu asked.

"Don't tell me you're planning to have me running into Tai Lung up there in some desperate attempt to make us become friends."

He gave her a crooked smile. "The funny thing is that Tai Lung had been worried about the exact same thing when I told him you'd be going there."

"...ah." She tried not to feel like an idiot or to think about how she and Tai Lung now apparently even thought in the same way.

"But no, Tai Lung will stay here. You will have to live with me joining you on your trip."

"With you-" She hesitated. "You mean... you and me, going to the Sacred Pool of Tears?"

"Indeed."

"Alone? Together? I mean... just the two of us?"

"Just like the old days, yes."

"...wow..." For the first time in years, Tigress was feeling giddy. She couldn't help but smile at the thought of spending time with her Master again, without anybody or anything interrupting them. But now, her curiosity was getting too strong to ignore. "But... why? What will we do there?"

Instead of answering right away, the red panda fished another wooden playing piece out of his sleeve. "Oh, I'm sure that deep down, you know exactly what we will do. But I'm afraid we have almost reached the end of our little tea time, so... catch."

 _What's that supposed to mean?_ Tigress thought when the piece flew up into the air. _Then again, it's hardly surprising that he gave a cryptic answer. Oh well, he has given me more than enough amazing news already!_ She smiled and grabbed it with her right hand.

For a moment, student and Master just looked at each other. "You're learning," Master Shifu finally admitted and looked down at the tea pot, which Tigress had held in place with her left hand the moment Master Shifu had thrown the playing piece. "But you still have much to learn."

"What?" Tigress looked down. Somehow, her cup had been filled _again_. "...how did you-" She froze when she saw that Master Shifu's cup - the one he hadn't touched during their talk - was empty. "I should've held my cup in place instead of the pot, right?"

"No," he told her and smirked. "You shouldn't have touched your cup at all until the very end. Your mistake was drinking when I invited you to the very first time."

 _He's right,_ Tigress admitted silently. _I just should have emptied my cup in one go right before getting up to leave._ "I should have known there would be a lesson here," she finally said and picked up her cup with a trembling hand. "Well, a last one for the road..."

"Oh, please!" her Master waved his hand just when she was about to lift the cup to her lips. "Put the cup down, Tigress - if you drink a third one, I'm afraid I'll have to carry you all the way to the Sacred Pool of Tears tomorrow!"

She sighed in relief and put the cup down. "Thank you, Master!"

Master Shifu simply gestured towards the door. "Go and get some sleep. You will need it."

At the door, Tigress briefly turned around and gave her Master quick salute before making her way outside. Walking was surprisingly hard, though, since the path refused to hold still for her. "Yeah, that third cup wouldn't have been a good idea," she muttered, thankful for the cool night air which cleared her head at least a little bit.

Just as she was about to drag herself all the way up to her quarters, she heard someone laughing in the distance. _...Viper?_ She frowned before realizing that there was another voice, also laughing. _...Tai Lung?_

For long moments, Tigress just stood there, swaying lightly, trying to make sense of the apparent fact that Viper and Tai Lung were... actually having a good time together.

But then she snickered. _Yeah, right. Must be some sort of tea-induced hallucination. Strong stuff, and I had two cups._ And with that, she half-walked, half-crawled back towards her quarters.


	11. Dark secrets

_Okay, third time's the charm,_ Tai Lung thought as he tried to find the kitchen yet again. It should have been easy, really - after all, he had made it to the courtyard just fine, with just one stop along the way to throw up into some bushes. But from there, the buildings somehow kept rearranging themselves. _Stupid tea's messing with my mind,_ he observed and shuddered. While he had managed to empty his stomach, whatever poison his Master had brewed up had already taken its toll on him.

After a few steps in a direction he probably hadn't tried before, he knew he was on the right way. "Crap, crap, crap!" Viper's cursing made him smile, and he used her voice as a guide. Unsurprisingly, the kitchen ended up being where it had always been, and Tai Lung found the snake next to one of the small fireplaces, scrubbing viciously over the giant black patch on her scales. "Come ooooon!"

Not feeling like startling her from close distance, the snow leopard knocked on the door frame, making Viper jump. "Hey."

"Um." Master Viper's eyes darted left and right, obviously trying to find a good escape route. "Hey."

"Mind if I join you?"

She laughed politely to cover up her nervousness. "Well, I'd love to chat, but I was just about to leave, so..."

 _Oh, fine, if you insist on me being blunt..._ "I know you've been spying on Master Shifu and me."

"...ah." Her tongue flicked out a few times as she contemplated that.

"And even if Master Shifu hadn't told me, you being covered in Sinner's Ink would have tipped me off."

"Sinner's what?" She gave him a confused look. Then her eyes wandered to her black scales. "This is what?"

Instead of answering immediately, Tai Lung sat down on a chair close to her. Not having to rely on his feet to keep him upright felt reassuring, and it also put him in convenient range of some peaches. He quickly grabbed one and took a bite, praying that it would get rid of the foul taste in his mouth. "Sinner's Ink," he finally told her. "It's a special ink Master Shifu created to catch naughty students who go to places they aren't supposed to."

Viper grimaced at that. "Okay, fine, I spied on you, I got caught. Yay, yay. So how do I wash it off?"

"What if I told you that you can't wash it off and that you'll stay marked like this for a few weeks?"

"I'd tell you that our little chat is over and that I'll go to bed." She gave him an annoyed look. "Oh, and also that you're a jerk, so there."

Tai Lung chuckled at that. "A jerk? You wound me!" He reached for another peach, but a well-aimed soup ladle thrown by Viper knocked it away just before he could grab it. "Fiiiine, put the larger pot on the fireplace and fill it with some water." _No sense of humor, that snake!_

"I tried warm water already," Viper told him, but still did as he had instructed her.

"It wouldn't be Sinner's Ink if you could just wash it off with plain water." The snow leopard made it over to the rack with the various herbs and spices and took out several of them. "Here, chop those into small bits and put them into the water."

"Oh, gee, please don't help me too much!" she told him when she saw the pile of herbs he had put on the table. "What're we cooking up, anyway? Some sort of broth?"

He slumped down on the chair again. "I can barely _stand_ , Viper. I don't trust myself with a knife right now. And no, we're actually preparing a bath."

Her eyes moved from the pile of herbs to the kettle. "I'll let you know in advance that the Snake Soup gag hadn't been funny the first time somebody tried to pull it on me."

"Duly noted, now get to work..." He grabbed a second peach and took a quick bite. The sweet taste managed to at least briefly make him forget the moment of emptying his cup of tea.

For a few minutes, Viper simply chopped the herbs, holding the large knife with her prehensile body. But finally she paused and gave him a look. "You know, I figured you guys would just talk about Tigress, what with her playing such a central role in this mess." She took a deep breath. "So why did Master Shifu suddenly start talking about _me_?"

 _Probably because he heard you sneaking around inside the walls and wanted to punish you by poking your inner peace,_ Tai Lung silently replied, though he knew that this was only half the truth. "Maybe to warn me about a certain practitioner of the Poison Fang technique who had been close to killing me tonight?"

Much to her credit, Viper didn't react with the outburst he had expected. Instead, the knife just stopped in mid-chop. The snake stared blankly at the board for a few seconds, then she tilted her head slightly to give him a dark look. "What was that?" she hissed, her voice barely above a whisper.

 _I probably could've broached this subject with more tact._ "Feels horrible, doesn't it?" he asked, figuring that changing the course now would only make things worse. "Knowing that you could kill a guy just like that. Knowing that there is no force on Earth that could save him once you landed that one hit."

Viper rammed the knife into the chopping board with _much_ more force than necessary. "This discussion is over," she hissed and turned to leave. "You're clearly delusional from whatever Master Shifu made you drink."

"Knowing that it would be utterly _wrong_ to give in to this temptation," Tai Lung pressed on, praying that he was judging Viper's character correctly. "Vowing that you would never, ever use this style... even though that is what your daddy would have wanted."

For long seconds, Viper was frozen in place, her back turned to Tai Lung. "Why did Master Shifu tell you all this?" she finally whispered. "He had promised not to blab."

"Tell me what?" he asked back and only now allowed himself to relax. "That your father had racked up at least a three-digit body count? That your fangs are probably a million times more dangerous than your buddies think? Or that you're a good being who won't use her gift no matter what?" He paused for effect. "He didn't tell me any of those things. All he did was confirming my guesses."

"Your guesses?" Viper echoed and slowly turned back to face him. "What do-" She tried to pull the knife out of the board, with little success. Mildly embarrassed, she tried again with more force. "What... doooo... yoooUUUU- AH THERE WE GO!" The knife was once again free, and Viper had visibly struggled not to accidentally fling it somewhere during the final pull. "Ahem. What do you mean by that?"

Tai Lung withheld his answer until he had confirmed that Viper would use the knife to chop the herbs and not his limbs. "I met your father many years ago, so I know the Poison Fang technique."

She considered this for a moment. "There's a traumatizing story there, isn't it?"

"Yes, but Master Shifu taught me not to speak ill of the dead." He looked down at the floor and hoped that she would leave it at that. Of course, he wasn't quite that lucky.

"Oh, that's okay!" Viper told him and cocked her head. "My father is very much alive."

Under his fur, Tai Lung paled. "The old fangface is still alive? But... he had been _old_ when I met him, and that had been, what, three decades ago?"

She smirked when she heard this nickname. "Trust me, he's alive, though admittedly retired by now. So it's okay to tell me all about it."

"Wonderful." He groaned and massaged his eyes with one hand. "We had traveled across the land, both to expose me to a wider range of fighting styles and to scout for new contacts." When he noticed her expression, he quickly clarified: "Master Oogway, Master Shifu and I. Two of Master Oogway's older students - by then Masters themselves - were taking care of the Jade Palace in the meantime."

"Three decades ago... if we subtract your two decades in prison, that just leaves ten years of training between that meeting and your imprisonment. You must've been very good even back then."

"I don't want to sound like I'm bragging, but 'very good' would be an understatement. I had been in full training to become the Dragon Warrior at that point."

"And then you ran into my father." She gave the herbs into the warm water without breaking eye contact.

He gave her a thin smile. "Yes. We came across that cozy little town and decided to rest for a day. Of course, the town's guardian paid us a visit. An old, grumpy snake; he interrogated us for at least half an hour. Master Oogway did most of the talking, thank goodness. Eventually, old fangface left us alone, and we settled into the inn." His claws were scratching over the table without him actually noticing it. "That night, bandits tried to raid the village."

Viper took a deep breath, obviously knowing where this was going. "Oh."

"Oh, yes. By the time the three of us had hit the street, four of the five bandits were already dead. The fifth..." He sighed. "It was over quickly. Almost too quickly for even me to follow. One moment, the two of them are facing each other. The next, your father is already bouncing off of the guy, leaving nothing but a bite mark on his neck."

"That sounds like my father alright."

Tai Lung grimaced. "Master Shifu was furious. While I was still trying to comprehend what I had just witnessed, those two were already bickering. And... then I finally spoke up."

She smiled nervously. "Against my father?"

He barely heard her. "I called him a murderer. Loudly. And... most of my exchange with him is a blur, but it somehow ended with me challenging him to a fight. Master Shifu _should_ have stopped me, but I think his emotions had clouded his judgment."

"You... challenged my father to a fight?" Viper blinked. "You picked a fight with a practitioner of the Poison Fang technique?"

"Worse: I picked a fight with a practitioner of the Poison Fang technique right after seeing it in action. Oh, and the whole part where I called him a murderer." He laughed nervously. "Not one of my better ideas, I admit."

"Well, you're still alive, so I gather you... won?" Viper was looking doubtful.

"Ha! Good one. Daddy dearest accepted my challenge and went straight for my throat." He absentmindedly smoothed the fur on his neck. "I didn't even have time to react. The only reason why I didn't die right there and then was Master Oogway intercepting him with his staff and catapulting him away. Still... your father's fangs came within an inch of my neck. I had been _this_ close to death." Viper was watching him carefully, but didn't speak up. "Your father... was absolutely ruthless. The only reason why my Masters didn't stop his methods was because he solely used his powers to defend his town - and even then, they spent most of the night discussing this decision. They... _feared_ the Poison Fang technique, and if it hadn't been a genetic gift, they would have classified it as one of the Forbidden Techniques that only Grand Masters learn from _their_ Masters."

She gave him a long look. "So you know my father. And me being his daughter, it makes sense to assume that I can - probably - use the Poison Fang-"

"Did you ever try?" he blurted out before he could stop himself.

Viper took a deep breath. "No. I have no idea if I can use it, to be honest. My fangs came in late, long after I had discovered my talent for proper Kung Fu. My father encouraged me to try them, but wisely stopped pushing when I made it clear that I wouldn't." She sighed. "I've seen so many dead bodies over the years... all of them with the same empty look of surprise and shock... I didn't want to carry on that kind of legacy."

"Thus explaining why Master Oogway and Master Shifu welcomed you into the temple?"

"I guess so, yes. They had a long talk with me and my parents, and then they told me to pack my bags." She smiled at the memory, but then frowned. "Still, there are a few missing pieces to this puzzle. For example, how did you figure out whose daughter I am? There are several snake families in the wider area..."

"The eyes. Try as I might, I had never been able to forget your father's eyes. That look when he had been just a few inches away from my neck, ready to end me..." He hesitated, knowing that he had to choose his next words carefully for several reasons. "I saw them again tonight, when you had attacked me to defend Monkey. It's what made me realize whose daughter you are. Before that, on the bridge, you probably had the same look on your face, but I had been somewhat... distracted... back then, so I hadn't noticed it at the time." He idly scratched at the table with one claw. "You had been ready to kill me, hadn't you? The father's instinct to kill clashing with the daughter's willpower not to go down that path." He sighed gravely. "And judging by how they are focusing on Tigress, your friends aren't even aware-"

"Oh, yap, yap, yap," Viper interrupted him, making him blink in confusion. "Stop being so negative!" She lowered her voice and squinted in what she apparently thought was a passable imitation of him: "The father's instinct to kill! The daughter's valiant fight to endure! Rawr rawr rawr!"

 _...what?_ Tai Lung blinked in confusion. He was not used to being interrupted or mocked during a dramatic monologue. "Negative? I'd say it's realistic to observe that-"

"You and Crane should hang out, really. Both of you have such a flair for the overly dramatic." While Tai Lung was just giving her a stare of disbelief, she quickly grabbed a large spoon and stirred the hot broth.

 _This is a ruse. Some kind of trick. Has to be. Either that, or she's even more insane than her father._ He licked his lips. "Is that so?"

She smirked. "You have quite a few facts, and your insight in connecting them is remarkable. Caught me off-guard, really. But now your guesses are getting less lucky, so lemme help you out a bit: My friends? They _know_ whose daughter I am, even if I'm rarely in the mood to discuss the details or the implications. The sole difference lies in what they make of it: Tigress refuses to think of what I might be capable of, even if she's not aware of it. Po knows surprisingly much, but he tends to... _romanticize_ my father's action. Really, you should have a talk with him on that. Crane... like I said, he's overly dramatic. The armies my father and I battled rise in number in each retelling. Monkey doesn't care about who I might have become under different circumstances and instead focuses on who I am and who I can be, which is rather sweet. And Mantis..." She grimaced. "Mantis thinks that I'm saving the fangs for my wedding night. He has rather odd ideas about love and romance."

"Oh, okay, I didn't know-"

"Now, _you_..." Viper batted her eyelashes at him. "You are a surprise. You actually met my father, you've seen the Poison Fang, and you recognized me as his daughter. Rather impressive so far, though I can't help but wonder how you knew that I wouldn't use the Poison Fang against you." Her fangs slid out of their hiding spots, and it took Tai Lung a great deal of self-control to remain seated. "Really, I had been hoping to scare you into behaving with these. You know, appear all menacing and tell you that I could kill you with one bite. OOOooooOOOoooo, I'm a scary snake, leave my friends alone!" The fangs disappeared again. "So, how'd you figure this one out?"

It took him a few seconds to process all that. _Quite the schemer, though a little bit naive of her to think that I'd really be stopped by such a threat if push came to shove. These one-hit-kill techniques rarely work if you're properly prepared for them._ "Oh, you gave me two chances to figure that one out, Viper," he calmly replied. "The first time was on the bridge, and the second time the fight tonight. In both situations, you had been ready to strike with your fangs. In both situations, it would have saved your friends from harm." He allowed himself a smile. "And in both situations, you refused to bite me." _Though tonight was a bit too close for comfort, I'll admit._ "Especially on the bridge, with so much to lose, you stuck to your principles, your... _codex_. You risked the lives of your friends and the fate of the Valley of Peace, and you turned down the chance to be hailed as China's biggest hero... all because you are not your father."

"Well, when you put it like _that_..." The snake laughed, and Tai Lung couldn't tell if she was nervous, flustered or embarrassed. "Ah, well, still a pity that I now have less leverage over you."

"You're one of the most talented Kung Fu Masters in all of China; you don't have to rely on a cheap instant-death technique to keep me from rampaging all over the place."

"Oh yeah, because regular Kung Fu worked out _so_ well the last time we tried it on you." She took the pot off the fireplace, anticipating that she probably wasn't supposed to take a bath in boiling water. "We may be some of the most skilled Masters in all of China, but you are _the_ most skilled Master."

"I like to think that I changed, so this shouldn't be an issue anymore," Tai Lung told her firmly, "and from what I saw tonight, you five still have quite a few tricks up your sleeves, so give yourself some credit. I'm hardly invincible." Then, on a whim, he muttered, "Besides, if you want to be strict, then I'd say that Tigress is the most skilled Master right now."

"Oh, please. She's good, and probably the most skilled Master of us five, but you're _way_ beyond her level. Which means that-" Viper froze, and Tai Lung immediately knew that he had given away too much. "Wait. Could you elaborate on that a bit?"

He gritted his teeth. "No."

She squinted at him. "It's obvious that you're more skilled than Tigress. So that would make you the more skilled Master, unless..."

"I'm practically a _Grand_ Master! That's what I meant there! I mean, we also didn't count Master Shifu, right? So there. I'm outside your league. That's it."

That clearly hadn't been enough to satisfy her, and he was already considering to just leave when the realization hit her. "Did you ever take the exam for the title of Master for your natural style?"

"Of course I mastered my style!" The urge to leave was getting stronger.

A grin was spreading over her face. "You never took that stupid exam, did you? You..." The grin was growing wider. "You... aren't a Kung Fu Master..."

Tea poisoning or not, Tai Lung quickly got up and turned towards the door. "This is absurd!" he hissed, hoping to somehow shame her into stopping.

"If you leave, I'll tell the others..."

"IT'S JUST A TECHNICALITY!" he roared, desperation taking over now. "I never bothered to take the exam because I was training to become the Dragon Warrior!"

"Oh, I'm sure Tigress will be absolutely understanding of that!" Viper nodded almost sincerely, but then the grin was back.

Tai Lung twitched. "What do you want, snake?" he finally hissed.

Viper batted her eyes at him. "Oh, I'm a girl with simple needs, Tai Lung..."

 _What._ The snow leopard squinted. "Wow, I know that living far away from others of your kind can make you feel lonely and unfulfilled, but I wouldn't have thought you to be _so_ craving for affection..."

Now it was Viper's turn to squint. "Affection? Own kind? What are you even-" Suddenly, her eyes widened. "Oh! Oh, wow! You were thinking I wanted a KISS? Or MORE?" She gave him a genuine, lighthearted laugh. "Oh my! Ha!" Her laughter was turning out to be contagious, as Tai Lung rapidly found himself laughing along with her. Which in turn only egged her on even more: "Oh, oh! I can see it now! You, holding me in a passionate embrace!" They giggled together. "On a cliff, with the surf splashing up against it!"

"My sweetest Viper, you're the only one I ever loved!" Tai Lung played along, striking the pose she had just described. Of course, his weakened body wasn't too thrilled by this, and he quickly stumbled and fell to the floor. Still, he was having a good time, laughing together with Viper for a few minutes.

"Ahhhhhh, thanks, I needed that," she finally wheezed, coming down from her laughing flash.

"Heh, welcome." He smiled politely. "So anyway, once the water cooled down, hop in and the ink will wash-"

"Ohhhhh no you don't!" Viper quickly interrupted him. "You're not getting off the hook that easily!"

 _Crap._ His smile turned into a scowl. "So what _do_ you want?"

"Nothing much, really. Just a piece of your dignity." She smirked. "Greet me. Properly."

"...what?" He gave her a puzzled frown. Not sure what she was expecting, he got up and gave her a quick salute, bowing slightly with his fist in his palm. "I... greet you? Good morning?"

Viper gave him a look that told him that this wasn't quite what she was waiting for. "Aaaaaand?"

 _And what? Seriously, why is she getting so hooked up on this whole business where she's a Master and I'm not? It's just a formali-_ He froze. _Oh. That. Of course._ He took a deep breath, making Viper grin. With his fist meeting the palm of the other hand, Tai Lung bowed deeply. "Good morning, _Master_ Viper."

"Eeeeeee!" Viper was bouncing up and down excitedly. "Do it again!"

"No." He crossed his arms firmly.

"Oh come oooooon! Pretty please?" She batted her eyes at him again.

"I swear, if word of this gets out, not even the Poison Fang technique will protect you," he hissed before repeating the gesture. "Good morning, _Maaaster_ Viper."

"I could do this all day." Viper sighed dreamily. "Oh well. Maybe I'll make you do it again in a few weeks." She ignored his twitch. "So... yeah, I guess you can understand my struggle?"

"The struggle of trying to get away with continuous blackmailing?"

"Knowing a deadly technique and then swearing to yourself that you'll never use it. I mean, you obviously play by those rules, too."

"Obviously?" he asked, though she was of course right.

"You've engaged us twice now. Once was a fight in which we almost killed you, and the other time, we pretty much ambushed you. You probably know a dozen techniques to kill somebody quickly, and yet the most advanced technique you used merely stunned us."

"All just part of my master plan to get Master Shifu to accept me back into the temple," Tai Lung countered, trying to look as sincere as possible.

"Careful with those jokes, Tigress might actually believe you." She slowly dipped the tail end of her body into the water, considered it for a moment, and then slipped into it all the way until only her head was above the surface. "Ahhhhhhhhh..."

He shrugged lazily. "Tigress isn't going to be around for a while, and I'm sure she'll be full of love for me once she comes back."

Viper snickered at the last part, but then gave him a curious look. "What's that all about, anyway? Master Shifu hasn't taken any of us to the Sacred Pool of Tears in years, and now he's suddenly willing to take Tigress there and leave you here without supervision?"

"I'd say that the Dragon Warrior and four members of the Furious Five are more than enough supervision," he commented. "And maybe he feels that Tigress is ready for the next step of her-"

"She has been ready for _years_!" Viper snapped, her sudden anger startling the bigger fighter. "Sorry, sorry... it's just been sort of a sore spot for us."

"That Master Shifu has been holding all of you back?"

She gave him a look. "Thanks to you, yes."

"I'm willing to shoulder half the blame for this one, but not more." He narrowed his eyes. "But returning to your original question, I'm not sure what made him change his mind now." _As much as I'd like to give myself credit for this one, I doubt he did it just because I blurted out the accusation way back..._

"Maybe he feels she's still not over the whole bridge fiasco?" Viper suddenly asked after a few seconds of silence.

Tai Lung huffed. "We all _know_ she's not. But what _I_ don't know is _why_ she's not. All of you have the same reasons to hate me; I had been your nemesis, and you tried to fight me to the death. Yet you all managed to give me another chance while she keeps going back to that fight. This is more than just a competitive streak, and even if this was just her griping about a lost fight, that wouldn't explain why Master Shifu would reward her for it by teaching her something new."

"Heh, reward." Viper laughed quietly and shook her head. "I shouldn't laugh, really. It's kinda mean. It just amuses me to see you being unable to grasp just how messed-up the relationship between Tigress, Master Shifu and you is." She briefly rose out of the water. "Oh hey, look, the paint's starting to coming off!"

He raised an eyebrow at that. "I believe it's now your turn to elaborate." Then, after a moment: "Not on the paint, I mean."

"It's a funny story, really; you're going to love it," Viper told him, not even trying to mask her sarcasm at this point. "At age eight, young Tigress did her first backflip from the roof of the Hall of Warriors. Master Shifu took her aside to praise this achievement, and he did so by assuring her that she was destined for greatness. That later on, it would be up to her to defend the Jade Palace and the Valley of Peace from all threats. You know, like bandits." She gave him a crooked grin. "Or you. And yes, that's what he totally did back then: he flat out told her that it would be her destiny to fight for all that is dear to her if that crazy evil Master of all styles ever came back."

Tai Lung's eyes were so wide, he was mildly afraid they'd fall out of their sockets. "He told her that it would be her destiny to stop me? Seriously?" Then he replayed Viper's narration in his head. "At age _eight_?"

"Tigress told me so, and she did it in her weird matter-of-fact voice where you can tell she doesn't even see anything particularly wrong with it." Viper sighed deeply. "Ever since then, Tigress has been training. Her life since childhood has been dedicated to defending the Valley of Peace against you at all cost. That had been her sole mission in life." She narrowed her eyes. "So tell me, Tai Lung, can you see why she might not be over the fight at the bridge?"

He gave her a blank look. "I'm sorry, but I'm still at the whole age-eight part. This is terribly irresponsible parenting. Didn't her orphanage ever ask for a refund?"

"Orphanages don't work that way, you idiot," Viper replied slowly and with a slightly exasperated expression. Then she relaxed a bit. "Tigress went into that fight, feeling that it was her destiny to either kill you or to die trying. And then she failed on both counts, and I guess this is still nagging at her despite all that has happened since then."

"Are you saying I rather should've killed her?" _Or, more conveniently, that I should've let her kill me?_

"I don't think anybody would put it in such drastic terms, no," Viper admitted and rolled her eyes. "But before you broke out, Tigress felt that she had a purpose. Now she's faced with both of you being alive and - we all hope - on the same side. She needs to find her inner balance again. And maybe Master Shifu feels responsible for putting her in this situation."

Tai Lung took a deep breath. _What is it with Master Shifu and promises about destiny? Didn't he learn his lesson after my screw-up? So now there are_ two _people at the Jade Palace unsure of their place in life? Brilliant._ He gave Viper a look. "Assuming that your analysis so far is correct, how do you think will he restore Tigress's inner balance?"

Viper tilted her head this way and that as she considered this question. "Well, I suppose one way is to let her meditate over the meaning of life until she has matured enough to surpass-"

"Yes, that sounds likely," Tai Lung interrupted her and crossed his arms. "And then we hug and kiss and go for a long walk along the beach until we finally reach the magnificent castle of the Fairytale Kingdom."

"Spoilsport." The snake laughed quietly. "Fine, so we both know that Tigress will be training for a fight with you. And that Master Shifu will teach her something nice and advanced that won't be too hard for her to pick up... and that hopefully won't force us to mop up your remains afterwards."

"Yes, mopping would be... bad," he admitted. _Especially since I'm speaking from experience there by now._ "But tell me, if we're having that fight, and if I end up beating her again..."

Viper's smile froze. "Then there will be mopping. Lots and lots of mopping."


	12. Demoralization

As a child, Tai Lung had once thrown a pebble at one of the servant ducks. He had been very young, he hadn't really known what he had been doing, and he had been rightfully punished for it by Master Shifu. But while he had learned his lesson, he had never actually experienced how much it could hurt to have someone throw rocks at him - nobody had been stupid enough to try.

At least until this morning.

The rock felt about as large as his fist, and it had been thrown with force against his arm. Tai Lung woke up with a loud snarl, claws and teeth bared, ready to take on whoever had just signed their death warrant.

"You're awake, what a shame," Tigress commented drily from her position at the cave entrance. She lazily tossed a second rock over her shoulder, obviously regretting that she wouldn't get to throw that one at him, too.

Tai Lung took a moment to look at the rock that had hit him - it was a lot smaller than he had assumed, but _somebody_ obviously didn't know her own throwing strength. "You," He hissed and slowly made his way over to her. Much to her credit, Tigress didn't move an inch despite just having induced murderous rage in an opponent who was nearly at her teacher's skill level. _Still, I can kinda see why she would want to keep her distance when waking me up. I mean, would I just sneak up to my sleeping self after all that had happened? ...then again, there are other ways. Such as clearing your throat. Or making some other noise._ "So you think you can mess with me as you please the moment Master Shifu says he'll teach you something new?"

"We need to talk about that," she told him flatly, looking straight into his eyes.

 _Calm down,_ he told himself. _Things have been working out okay so far, so don't ruin it all just because she decided to act like a complete loon._ He let his claws slide back into their hiding spots. "What is there to talk about?"

"The issue of both me and Master Shifu being gone from the Jade Palace for weeks."

"Pah. As if this will be the first time this has happened."

"The last few times, we've had Master Oogway. And you had been safely locked up far, far away from here."

The urge to let his claws spring free again was almost overwhelming. "What are you implying?" he hissed.

Tigress immediately opened her mouth to reply, but then froze. After a few seconds, she straightened her back and took a deep breath, obviously fighting her own urge to escalate the situation. "I didn't come here to imply anything." She sighed. "Listen. Crane's wing is still not fully healed. Po is excellent at improvising and a fast learner, but he still has lots of training to do before he can stop relying on luck and intuition. That leaves Viper, Mantis and Monkey. They're very good, but there's a reason why Master Shifu trained the five of us as a group."

"You're talking as if you're expecting an invasion," Tai Lung told her and cocked his head.

"I'm not, but in a few hours, the Jade Palace will be more vulnerable than ever before."

 _Ignoring that time all of us left the palace and ran into the old fangface... but this isn't the time to make good points._ "So you're asking me to protect it?" He raised an eyebrow.

"No. I'm asking you to not behave like a complete idiot who will throw away his one chance at redemption the moment he sees a chance to finish what he couldn't do months ago." She gave him an uncharacteristic smirk. "Because then I _know_ you will protect it."

 _I could probably break her leg in a way that will only become noticeable hours from now,_ Tai Lung mused, but he knew it was just his brain humoring him in order to prevent him from actually doing anything like that. "It's almost funny how you practically _try_ to get yourself killed just to make sure that I keep doing what I've been doing the past few weeks," he finally sneered.

"Oh, please. You're not going to hurt me." Tigress was practically bouncing in place while still maintaining her cool and calm pose with her hands behind her back. "After all, if you harm me now, you will have ruined Master Shifu's elaborate plan. And ohhhhhhh, he wouldn't like that..."

"Well, it's nice that you finally admit that your best shot at triumphing over me is to hide behind our Master," the snow leopard purred softly. It was a low blow and a cheap shot, but in his mind, seeing her happy and calm expression crumble was worth it. _Besides, it might make her snap out of whatever insanity infected her mind..._

Her face briefly went from happiness to surprise, then to rage, and finally to a carefully composed neutral expression. "Don't think that you can bait me into giving you the beating you deserve," she stated. "After all, Master Shifu only offered to train me because he felt confident that I wouldn't strangle you in your sleep instead of waking you up with a pebble." She let that one sink in for a moment and smiled sweetly. "So. Shall we head up and pretend we aren't both itching for a confrontation?"

 _Wait, I'm not itching for a fight! Well, except for all those times when our bickering threatens to escalate... but deep down, I don't want a fight. After all, I'm not the one who wants revenge for a lost fight that happened months ago._ "You're _really_ banking on Master Shifu teaching you some miraculous technique to beat me, aren't you?" he simply muttered and motioned her to lead the way out of the cave.

"Don't be absurd." Her sweet smile turned into a cruel smirk, and Tai Lung could practically _feel_ the temperature drop. "I'm not hoping for some sort of miracle. I won't _need_ it. All I need is for Master Shifu to give me an edge. Some training, some meditation." She put on her cool and detached expression again. "I've unfortunately been... _off-balance_ ever since this entire mess with your break-out, but that will change. No more of this emotional, _desperate_ fighting."

Tai Lung walked past her and out of the cave. "You're adorable when you're bluffing," he said when he was right next to her.

For a short while, he was walking in silence along the hidden path leading to the stairs. Finally, Tigress spoke up again. "I _will_ defeat you, Tai Lung."

Tai Lung smirked and turned around, having prepared a witty reply long seconds ago. "You-" He froze when he realized that Tigress was gone without a trace. "Heh, not too bad," he admitted and chuckled. But the amused expression quickly gave way to a mild frown as he considered what she had said. _How likely is it that I've only seen a distracted, frantic, desperate version of Tigress so far?_ He cocked his head and mulled it over. _And how worried should I be if she wasn't bluffing?_ After carefully looking around, the snow leopard huffed. _Not too worried, but I should probably get some more serious training done while she's gone, just in case._ A moment later, he had disappeared, too.

He took his time to make sure not even the servants noticed him when he grabbed something to eat. The sound of the morning gong finally told him that it was about time to head to the courtyard.

It took Master Shifu only a few minutes to gather his students in the center of the courtyard. The six fighters were standing in a straight line in front of their Master, with Tigress standing at the far right side. From his hiding place, Tai Lung marveled at how innocent Tigress was looking. _You'd never know she made remarks about strangling me in my sleep just a few minutes ago..._

"Good morning," Master Shifu began, then paused for effect before continuing, " _again_."

"Wait, again?" Po asked, making Monkey, Crane, Viper and Mantis coughing nervously.

"Oh, joy, they still haven't told you," the red panda remarked drily and shook his head. "Well, that's good to know." He opened his mouth again, but then stopped himself. "Tai Lung, why don't you join us? This is as much about you as it is about the rest of us."

"Of course, Master Shifu," the snow leopard replied and leaped out of his hiding place, landing neatly next to Viper at the far left side of the line.

Viper gave him a once-over and then just rolled her eyes. "Pity," she whispered, "there goes my bet..."

 _Bet?_ Tai Lung asked himself, but decided to keep his mouth shut for the moment. _More than enough time to ask her once Master Shifu is gone._

"Well, as _most_ of you know, I have decided to go on a training journey with Tigress," Master Shifu said to bring Po up to speed. The panda gestured this way and back, stammering quietly for a while before finally nodding in awe. When Master Shifu was positive that there would be no outbursts, he continued: "We will probably be gone for a few weeks, which leaves us with a slight... organizational issue." He sighed very deeply. "I don't feel comfortable leaving the Jade Palace for the second time within months without a Grand Master. I really don't."

"Hey, come on now," Po told the red panda, making Tai Lung raise an eyebrow at the chummy tone of the Dragon Warrior. "We got this! Right, guys? I mean, you and Tigress will be gone, sure, but me and those guys? Who's gonna stop us? Just look at 'em! Mantis! Viper! Crane! Monkey! Me! Tai Lu-" He froze in mid-word when he realized the issue in question.

"Yes," Master Shifu stated flatly. "About that."

"Now, wait a second..." Tai Lung started, but Master Shifu's bored look silenced him quickly.

"This is not about your past, Tai Lung," his old teacher informed him. "You are hardly a saint, but I know you have the experience and the ability to stay cool under pressure, so-"

"Oh sweet mercy," Tigress suddenly wheezed, "you're not seriously considering to appoint Tai Lung as acting Grand Master, are you?"

"What, did that catch you... _off-balance_?" The remark was out before Tai Lung could even consider holding it back.

Instead of answering verbally, Tigress just gave him a glare that made the taller people between them cringe and duck.

"I really wonder if you two are capable of exchanging two sentences without antagonizing each other," Master Shifu muttered and shook his head. "No, Tigress, I'm not appointing Tai Lung as anything. However, I will give everybody clear roles."

Tigress and Tai Lung exchanged quick glances, then both of them shrugged.

When Master Shifu was certain that his two best students wouldn't make any quips, he took a deep breath. "Monkey and Mantis? You two will be responsible for training schedules."

"Oh yeah, now we're talking!" Monkey cheered and held up a finger to offer Mantis their version of a high-five.

"But-...!" Crane bursted out, waving his wings at Monkey and Mantis, then at the entire temple. "You can't-... I mean... do you think this is _wise_?"

The red panda gave him a knowing look. "Do you have any reason to oppose this choice, Crane?" Ignoring the suddenly alarmed looks Monkey and Mantis gave the bird, he pressed on. "Maybe something these two did the last time I had left you five alone?"

Crane twitched lightly, and even Tigress was looking mildly uncomfortable. It was obvious that something _had_ happened, but apparently, the Furious Five had decided to not bring this up with their Master. "Um... no, Master Shifu, nothing had happened," Crane finally replied lamely.

"Good." Master Shifu clapped his hands. "It doesn't really matter, anyway. After all, I'm making you and Viper responsible for keeping Monkey and Mantis in check. If they slack off or decide to do something stupid, you're officially authorized to correct them."

That was enough to immediately invert the moods of the four fighters in question. Crane and Viper were sporting the widest grins Tai Lung had ever seen while Monkey and Mantis were openly scowling. "Your wisdom is as limitless as the heaven above, Master Shifu," the bird whispered and bowed deeply.

"Po," Master Shifu moved to the next item on his mental list, "you will be responsible for keeping those four in check."

Four pairs of eyes were suddenly focused on the panda, who was coughing nervously. "Uh, Master Shifu, I'm seriously not sure I want to get between those four when things are about to go from bad to worse..."

"Nonsense!" the red panda cheered. "The Dragon Warrior must not only train his muscles, but also his diplomatic abilities!"

"Yeah, but-"

"Anyway! Tai Lung!"

"I can see where this is going," the snow leopard muttered, but didn't raise his voice to object.

"It's your job to make sure that those clowns don't kill each other while I'm gone."

"Heh..." The quiet laugh made everybody turn around. "That's rather ironic, don't you think, Master?" Tigress asked, making no effort to hide her smile. "I mean, asking Tai Lung to _prevent_ misery and death?"

The people standing between him and Tigress immediately moved backwards.

It took every ounce of Tai Lung's strength to not leap past the assembled warriors and break her limbs in stunningly creative ways. "Cute," he hissed instead.

Master Shifu gave them a thin-lipped smile. "I'll have to chain at least one of you up if you keep going like this."

"Chains won't hold me," Tai Lung and Tigress replied in perfect unison and promptly glared at each other for it.

"...you rehearsed this, didn't you?" their Master asked and gave them a puzzled frown, which turned into an encouraging smile towards Tigress. "I'm right, am I not?" When Tigress opened her mouth to tell him that it of course wasn't rehearsed and that Tai Lung was a horrible person, he added, "Because otherwise, I'd have to use our trip to give you a lengthy lecture on needlessly provoking a fight, which should go against everything I told you since you were a little girl."

Tigress froze, her smug smirk fading ever so slightly. "...your observation skills are unrivaled, Master."

"Yes, we were just kidding," Tai Lung added, knowing full well that he was standing on equally thin ice.

"Good, we understand each other." Master Shifu's glare was well hidden behind a gentle smile. "Well, let's not waste any more time. We'll be back in a few weeks; try not to burn down the Jade Palace while we're gone." And with that, he just waved at Tigress and marched off.

Tigress bowed at her fellow students - making a point of bowing at each of them separately and leaving out Tai Lung - before turning on her heel and hurrying after her Master.

"That went well," Tai Lung muttered under his breath, only to realize that nobody was paying any attention to him anyway. The Jade Palace students were all talking at the same time, creating an indecipherable mess of speech before stopping to sort things out.

"Stop changing the subject!" Crane snapped, looking uncharacteristically angry and even flapping his large wings for emphasis.

Monkey, who apparently was on the receiving end of Crane's anger, tried to calm down his friend. "Relax, Crane! It was only a small bet! It's like you always say: You win some, you lose some..."

"Yeah, and I lose some when you _cheat_ ," Crane huffed.

Tai Lung gave Po a questioning look, but the panda was looking as perplexed as he was.

"Wha- Cheat? Me? ...this time?" Monkey was looking genuinely perplexed.

"Oh come on, it's obvious!" Crane gestured this way and that. "You and Tigress hatch up this plot to make her act like a complete loon, you bet on her doing exactly that, and then you two split the winnings!"

Monkey narrowed his eyes for a bit, but then he blinked. "Oh!" He laughed. "I get it now! You never-... yeah, I can see where you're coming from..."

Crane looked at Viper and Mantis for either support or clarification, but the two smaller Masters only shrugged.

"Here, let me bring you up to speed," Monkey sat down on the stone floor in a lotus position. "In fact, let me bring the others up to speed as well. Could you fetch the board, Crane?" He addressed Tai Lung and Po now: "You see, after last night's events - just roll with it for now, Po - we decided to make a quick bet about how Tigress would act before leaving."

The bird scowled, but then turned around and went to a nearby shed to retrieve a large wooden stand that had a single sheet of paper tacked to it. He silently set it up next to Monkey, allowing Tai Lung and Po to read what had been written onto it. The writing consisted of a simple two-column table: a short description on the left side and a number on the other side, which probably described how much the person had wagered. Tai Lung focused on the left side and read the first entry. "Tigress has learned her lesson and found balance. Nothing will happen." The handwriting was impeccable - easily rivaling the grace Master Shifu had attained.

"That was my bet," Crane informed him. "I had faith in Tigress and usually pride myself on understanding her, so imagine my surprise just now..." He glared at Monkey, who just sighed and made a moving-on sign.

"Tai Lung is murdered after a heated mating session," the snow leopard read the next entry and immediately did a double-take. "Come again?"

"Hey, they tell you to write what you know, right?" Mantis simply commented and shrugged. "I admit I didn't really expect to win the jackpot, but I would've _loved_ to see everybody's faces if I had."

 _Viper was right, he does have issues..._ He took a deep breath and looked at the third entry. "Tigress acts like a complete jerk."

"Mine, obviously," Monkey told him.

 _And last, but not least..._ "After a fight that leaves either Tai Lung or Tigress terribly maimed, the other one will weep and declare their undying love. Followed by much kissing." He froze. Then he re-read that last entry, hoping that he had simply misunderstood something. But no, the message remained the same. "What the..."

"What can I say?" Viper smiled apologetically. "I'm a hopeless romantic."

His eyes moved from her to the board, then back to her. "I think that's just plain hopeless." _And slightly disturbing._

"Needless to say that I won this bet," Monkey said and immediately held up his hand when Crane was about to protest again. "I know you're usually very good at reading people, Crane, but this situation is one you never had to witness before."

"Well, do enlighten us, then..." Crane was obviously unconvinced, but gave his peer the benefit of doubt.

Monkey took a deep breath. "Tigress... is nervous," he said at last.

For long seconds, nobody spoke. Crane and Monkey were communicating silently through a series of looks and gestures, and the others knew better than to interrupt them. "Okay, you have my attention," Crane finally admitted and folded his wings neatly.

"Tigress doesn't get nervous," Viper stated, looking at the others for support. "She's always calm and collected. Hey, even when she was heading out to certain doom-" A quick glance at Tai Lung, who barely bothered to look innocent and decided not to bring up occasions like the Apple Test where he had shown his nicer side. "-she hadn't been nervous."

"Of course not," Crane muttered and rolled his eyes. "At that point, she had been so obsessed with her mission that she almost eagerly embraced dying for her Master." He shook his head. "However, Viper does have a point - Tigress isn't the type who gets nervous; but I gather you've seen her like this before?"

"Yes, and you barely missed it," Monkey told him and smirked. "A few months before you moved in, she took her Master exam."

"Funny how that topic just keeps coming up recently," Viper whispered just loud enough for Tai Lung to hear while maintaining a perfectly neutral expression.

"And boy, had she been nervous the days before the exam," Monkey continued. "As in, complete breakdown, panic attacks, staying up late to go through every possible exam challenge... it had been a real mess."

"That doesn't sound anything like Tigress." Viper objected. "Couldn't she just have retaken the exam if she had failed?"

"Oh, of course," Monkey gave her an obviously fake smile. "It would just have meant admitting that she wasn't living up to the standards set by a certain other student..." He gave Tai Lung a meaningful look.

"Don't tell me you're trying to pin _that_ on me!" the snow leopard huffed and crossed his arms. "That one's all between Tigress and Master Shifu."

Monkey more or less admitted that point with a noncommittal shrug before moving on. "Anyway. Master Shifu decided to do his best to make her snap her out of it. He of course did so by telling her that showing nervousness was the first step towards defeat and that in a pinch, covering your anxiety was acceptable: boasting, grandstanding, intimidating, antagonizing, whatever gets the job done."

Tai Lung exchanged bewildered glances with the others. "That sounds like a terrible way to deal with anxiety," he finally said, and the others nodded. "How would he even come up with such a lesson?"

"Maybe he thought it's what you've been doing all these years?" Monkey suggested and flashed him a grin. "Besides, she ended up passing the exam, so everybody involved felt vindicated by the results."

"I don't grandstand!" the former Jade Palace student protested, filing away all objections to his father figure's terrible parenting ideas for later. "Grandstanding is for people who have to compensate for their small-"

"OUR BATTLE WILL BE LEGENDARY!" Monkey mock-roared, shaking his fist at the sky. Mantis, Crane and Viper almost died in their attempt not to laugh.

"Your death will be swift and painful," Tai Lung hissed; but in reality, he was close to laughing, too. He waited patiently for the four Masters to calm down a bit. "So Tigress tried to overplay her anxiety with boasting?"

"That's my guess at least," Monkey confirmed. "She's probably banking on Master Shifu teaching her something good to use against you. Because let's face it, there _will_ be a rematch between you two. Controlled sparring, sure, but still. And to be honest, I don't know which result would be more desirable for you: If he does teach her some special technique, expect the fight of your lifetime."

"And if he doesn't?" Tai Lung asked, even though he knew the answer to that already.

Monkey took a deep breath. "A focused Tigress is a force of nature. I don't even dare to imagine what a desperate and potentially unhinged Tigress will be like in a fight against her nemesis."

"Mhhh, unhinged Kung Fu fighter... where did I hear that one before?" Viper asked lightly, making her peers cough nervously.

Tai Lung decided to ignore the bait, mostly because he knew that she was right. _A crazy Tigress would be a serious threat. Not because she would be an unstoppable fighter, but because those who could stop her couldn't bring themselves to bring her down. It would be worse than my fall from grace._ "Let's not worry about the worst case. I have faith in Master Shifu to know what Tigress needs."

"That's adorable," Monkey commented, making Tai Lung wonder if 'Mood Swing' was one of the more recent additions to the Thousand Scrolls of Kung Fu, "and it just so happens that I know what _you_ need: lots and lots of training. You need to be at your peak if you want to give Tigress the fight she longs for. Which is why we'll come up with a nice training schedule for you that will let you experiment with your styles while we also get a nicely varied workout."

Crane cocked his head. "Wow, that sounds surprisingly focused and disci-"

"But that'll come later," Monkey cut him off with a grin. "Right now, heaven is high and the emperor is far away, as the proverb goes." He gave Crane a challenging look, but the large bird just rolled his eyes in silence. "Excellent - LAST ONE AT THE POOL WILL PAY TWICE HIS BET!" And with that, he, Mantis, Viper and Po were dashing off, leaving only Tai Lung and Crane behind.

"You're not going to stop them?" the snow leopard asked.

Crane sighed quietly. "Let them have their fun for now - they deserve a vacation before the universe decides to make things _interesting_ again."

Tai Lung raised an eyebrow at that. "You're talking as if you're expecting an invasion," he finally said for the second time that day.

"I'm not sure what I'm expecting, but... something just _bothers_ me. Master Shifu's sudden departure with Tigress... it's so unlike him. Something is up."

"Well, man's schemes are inferior to those made by heaven," Tai Lung showed that Monkey wasn't the only one who had paid attention to Master Oogway citing proverbs, "but when it comes to scheming, heaven has nothing on Master Shifu."

"So you too think something will happen?"

"I think that after your glorious plan where you tried to blame your demise on Po's appetite last night, Master Shifu won't give you the keys to the Jade Palace without a backup plan." Tai Lung allowed himself a smirk. "And speaking of putting you guys in charge, what _did_ happen last time, anyway?"

After a pause, Crane returned the smirk. "I'll tell you if you beat me to the pool." And with that, he was gone.


	13. Gentle beginnings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note:
> 
> In the eons between the last chapter and this one (Goodness, it's been a while... I'm sorry...), I also wrote "[A Sense of Compassion](/works/1286716)", a single-chapter story taking place several years before the events of the first KFP movie. It's set in the same continuity as this story, and this chapter briefly references the events of it. It's not required reading to understand this chapter, but if you haven't checked it out yet and like this story, feel free to give it a go.

It had been an uneventful trip, and Tigress kept reminding herself that this was a good thing. _You've been far too excited about fighting lately. Time to remember your lessons: being a warrior is more than just punching and kicking. That's what Master Shifu always claimed, isn't it?_ She stopped walking. _Huh, that lesson seems oddly familiar. Where did I last hear it?_  
  
"Tigress, I know we're close to a highly spiritual place," her Master spoke up behind her, "but could you wait with your meditative trance for the two minutes it'll take us to actually get there?"  
  
"I'm sorry, Master Shifu," Tigress replied automatically and started to move again. "I just remembered something you said a long time ago that somebody told me again recently. But I can't put my finger on who... that had..."  
  
"Well, it surely wasn't me," the red panda replied, apparently oblivious to the way she was trailing off. "I stopped telling my old lectures and anecdotes the day Viper threatened to kill herself with the Iron Fist of Justice if I kept doing it. Sort of a shame, really... I never got around to telling her the story of how I first met her father. Then again, it's probably for the best, all things considered."  
  
"That _jerk_!" Tigress hissed when she finally remembered who had told her this lesson, and when. She immediately acknowledged that her anger was irrational, but she had been hoping that she would be able to keep Tai Lung out of this sacred place and her personal training.  
  
"Well, yes, he was, but Viper managed to soften him up a bit since then." Master Shifu paused as it dawned on him that Tigress was not talking about Viper's father. "Oh, you mean the _other_ misguided Kung Fu practitioner who had almost killed my favorite student and who only got a shot at becoming a better person after a near-death experience."  
  
"Yes!" Tigress snapped, then did a double-take. "Wait, what?"  
  
Her Master smiled serenely as he completely ignored her outburst. "Do you know why we are here?"  
  
Tigress grimaced. "So that you can practice your Master Oogway impersonation? You got the cryptic subject changes down, at least."  
  
Master Shifu laughed quietly and gestured at parting fog ahead. The Sacred Pool of Tears lay straight ahead, and the scene left Tigress speechless, just as it had all those years ago, during her first visit. The place was a perfectly serene and virtually impossible to stumble upon mountaintop lake, surrounded by moss-covered rocks and patches of grassland. _This is where it all began. This is where Master Oogway meditated and founded Kung Fu._  
  
"Do you know why we are here?" Master Shifu repeated.  
  
"I... because..." Tigress still couldn't take her eyes off the pool. "I have no idea."  
  
"We are going to work on correcting two of my greatest mistakes." He picked up one of the many leaves lying on the ground and shook his head in disapproval. "Tai Lung... and you."  
  
The snarl was out even before Tigress could _think_ of maintaining self-control. "I'm a _mistake_?" she hissed.  
  
Ignoring her outburst (again), Master Shifu retrieved a rake from a chest hidden between two rocks and tossed it her way. "Here, you might as well get started. I have a feeling this will take a while." Then he hopped onto one of the rocks and slipped into an easy lotus position. "Do you know why we are here?"  
  
Tigress inhaled deeply, held her breath for several seconds, and finally exhaled. _He's going to keep restarting this conversation unless I keep calm. Easy, girl. You can do this._ "I do not, Master Shifu," she played along and started to sweep up the leaves.  
  
"We are going to work on correcting two of my greatest mistakes. Tai Lung... and you." He eyed her expectantly, then frowned mildly when no reaction came. "I spent many years of my life training Tai Lung to be not just the Dragon Warrior, but my legacy. I did nothing to-"  
  
"Your LEGACY?" Tigress snapped, then froze and smacked her forehead when she saw her Master's sadistic grin.  
  
"Do you know why we are here?"  
  
"Because I apparently died, and this is my own, personal Hell?"  
  
A pause. "Do you know why we are here?"  
  
"AAAAAAUUUUUUGH!"  
  
The Sacred Pool of Tears had probably never been this clean before. The sun had set long ago, and now Tigress lay next to the rock her Master was still sitting on, a small fireplace illuminating the scene.  
  
"Do you know why we are here?"  
  
"I do not, Master Shifu," she sighed. This was her own fault, she knew. The story was probably very short, but every repetition had just made her more aggravated until she had devolved into a screaming, emotional mess. Now she felt drained and just wanted rest. Not even being locked in a room with a bound and gagged Tai Lung and the Sword of Heroes sounded enticing at the moment.  
  
"We are going to work on correcting two of my greatest mistakes. Tai Lung... and you. I spent many years of my life training Tai Lung to be not just the Dragon Warrior, but my legacy. I did nothing to hold back his skills or ambitions. Anything he wanted to learn, I taught him. And when he stopped asking questions, I showed him something new that would rouse his interest again. Barring the things one Grand Master teaches to another, Tai Lung knows almost every technique I know."  
  
Tigress's eyes narrowed slightly at this. _How do you beat someone like that? ...how were we supposed to beat him?_ She raised an eyebrow. _And yet we almost did, even without the Dragon Warrior._  
  
"After Tai Lung had turned against us, I had been a wreck. In my mind, raising Tai Lung had somehow become my greatest mistake. I was determined not to repeat it, but at the same time I knew that I couldn't just do nothing. Tai Lung's presence was still looming over me, even though he was locked up in a prison literally built around him." He took a deep breath. "And then I found you."  
  
_Your second mistake, right?_ the feline thought, but managed to hold her tongue for the first time after messing it up about three dozen times in a row.  
  
"Even at your young age, you possessed strength and lots of raw talent. I looked at you and saw the snow leopard cub I had found on our doorstep so many years ago. And I took all of your potential and... turned it into a weapon to be wielded against Tai Lung." He paused. "Did you ever wonder why I only taught you Tiger style?" He suddenly asked, and Tigress knew that the sadistic teasing had turned into a mix between a confession and a Master-student discussion.  
  
"Occasionally," she lied.  
  
"Ha!" Her Master shook his head. "Be honest."  
  
"Judging by what you just told me, I'll presume that you did it because you were afraid of what I could become." _A good answer. Dodges his actual question, but I don't really feel like going through years of secret doubt right now - not even the rest of the Five know just how deep those waters are._  
  
The red panda sat in silence for nearly a minute, staring straight ahead. "Because I _knew_ what you could become." Suddenly, he got up, and Tigress's eyes flew open in anticipation. "But there was another reason. Tai Lung has studied virtually every style and technique known to me in record time. That is why I made you spend all those years on becoming a Master of one style."  
  
Tigress opened her mouth, then gave her Master a questioning look. When he motioned her to go on, she frowned deeply. "With all due respect, but that makes _no_ sense."  
  
He gave her a thin-lipped smile. "Tai Lung learned almost everything I know. However, age-wise, he is much closer to you than to me, even if you count his years of imprisonment. His strength is the breadth of his knowledge. _Your_ strength is the depth of your knowledge. However, he apparently still has the upper hand in combat, so we need to teach you a few new tricks to help you compensate."  
  
_Tricks?_ "Should I have packed winter clothes? We're going to be here a while if I'm supposed to catch up with Tai Lung's experience."  
  
Her Master laughed. "Not quite. While I do intend to expand your horizon during the coming months and years, I will merely teach you three things while we are here. And we will leave when you have mastered two of them."  
  
Tigress cocked her head. "Why only two?"  
  
"While the two styles share traits, I doubt that you can master Leopard style in the time I intend to stay here."  
  
"You're going to teach me _Leopard style_?" Tigress asked in disbelief. "As in... Tai Lung's style? _That_ Leopard style?"  
  
"There is only one Leopard style, and I taught it to Tai Lung, so... yes, _that_ Leopard style." Master Shifu was clearly much more amused by this revelation than Tigress was.  
  
_Calm down, you're babbling._ Tigress forced herself to take a deep breath. "But Master, why would you teach me Leopard style? I doubt I could think of a style that would be more useless against Tai Lung - you can't possibly be thinking that I can beat Tai Lung with his own technique!"  
  
"Ahhh, the tigress shows her style, both on and off the battlefield." He smiled. "You're thinking much too straight-forward - I'm not expecting you to _use_ it against Tai Lung, at least not as the secret weapon to win a fight. But _knowing_ it should help you. The less Tai Lung can surprise you, the better your chances will be when you fight him. Besides, he also knows your style, so this should be an obvious first step towards improving your odds."  
  
Something was bothering Tigress. She thought about it for a moment before cocking her head. "When did we change the subject from your mistakes to you setting up a fight between your two little failures?"  
  
His smile turned into a smirk. "There was no subject change at all, Tigress. I failed in raising Tai Lung, and I failed in raising you. Tai Lung needs to learn the discipline, respect and humility that I neglected to teach him. And you need to step out of Tai Lung's shadow after I put you there. A victory over Tai Lung under controlled conditions should go a long way in helping both of you."  
  
"Well, let's just hope that I don't lose, then. No pressure."  
  
Master Shifu gave her a look. "What's this? The great Master Tigress is suddenly doubting herself?"  
  
This was her chance to get away with being cocky. To boast to her Master that of course there was no doubt. Instead, Tigress sighed. "You weren't there. I mean, on the bridge." When Master Shifu didn't say anything, she shook her head. "He was facing five foes he had never seen before, the bridge he had been crossing had been cut off from right under his feet, his desperate leap to the cliff was cut short in mid-air by me. And still, the moment he and I landed on the bridge again, with the rest of the Five struggling to keep the thing from completely collapsing, he was completely at ease and in control of the situation. Not a hint of doubt or fear on his face." She gave the red panda a look. "Deep down, I knew then that the fight was over. I had landed one solid kick, he had landed nothing, and still I knew I had lost the fight."  
  
"Mh, I had forgotten - or maybe just repressed - that Tai Lung employs theatrics to great effect." Master Shifu sighed quietly.  
  
"Theatrics?"  
  
A low chuckle. "I'll break my promise to Viper because it really is appropriate right now to repeat an old lesson: Being a warrior is more than just punching and kicking." Master Shifu _probably_ couldn't see Tigress's claws springing free for a second before she willed them back. "When Tai Lung arrived at the Jade Palace to fight me, he didn't just walk up to me to issue his challenge. No, he used the thunderstorm to make a grand entrance by jumping out of his hiding place the moment I closed my eyes during a lighting strike, making it look as if he had just appeared out of thin air. The advantage - small as it may have seemed - was on his side."  
  
"So he likes to use cheap mind games and intimidation." Tigress wasn't convinced that she liked this way of being a warrior. _But I only need to learn how to beat it, not how to do it, right?_  
  
Master Shifu was silent for a moment. "Tigress, do you remember our trip to the Lee Da Academy?"  
  
_Yes, but what does that have to do with anything? Again with the cryptic subject changes._ "Of course I do," she replied. "It's where we picked up Crane." _Instead of Mei Ling,_ she added quietly, wondering briefly how the mountain cat was doing these days.  
  
"Indeed. And you remember your fight with the wolf?"  
  
"I fought probably half the Academy on that day," Tigress replied airily, making her Master chuckle. "There was probably a wolf involved at some point, too, I guess?"  
  
"Very funny," Master Shifu commented, "but you know who I mean."  
  
"I do. He gave up once I disrupted the flow of the fight." She paused and searched her memories. "Ohhh, you're talking about how I convinced him to give up."  
  
"You 'convinced' him by blocking his strongest attack without even fully acknowledging it. But yes, this is what I'm talking about - from subtle displays of superior skills to openly taunting your opponent, there are several ways you can steer a fight before even throwing the first punch. Tai Lung has a knack for knowing which strings to pull to get a reaction from his opponents; you... mostly just intimidate people with your strength and skill."  
  
She huffed. "I merely... emphasize my presence. I don't aim to intimidate, and I don't do mind-games."  
  
"Oh, believe me, I know." She could almost _hear_ Master Shifu rolling his eyes. "Which is why you will also dedicate some of your time to meditate. If we can't change your stance on conscious theatrics, the least we can do is to fortify your emotional balance. It may just be enough, even if this is something where Tai Lung has the clear advantage over you and me both."  
  
_I suppose I can use every advantage I can get, and not flying into a hissy fit the moment he opens his stupid mouth sounds like a big one._ "Okay, so you will teach me some Leopard style and how to focus more. What's the third item on the list?"  
  
"Oh, no, no, no!" Her Master laughed quietly. "The meditation is just the basis - once you calmed down a bit, I will teach you the three things I intended."  
  
Tigress raised an eyebrow. _So there are two more techniques he will teach me aside from Leopard style?_ "And what will the other two be?"  
  
"I could tell you, but you won't like either one of them, so let's delay the big reveal until later. For now, get some sleep."  
  
"How very reassuring," Tigress muttered, got up and went to her tent. _I already don't like Leopard style, and he told me about that one. So how much worse are the other two going to be?_  
  
The next couple of days were slow and boring, though Tigress didn't exactly mind. Master Shifu and she spent most of their time meditating, interrupted only by a few basic exercises. Then, finally, one day after lunch, Master Shifu waved her over to an area a bit away from her usual training spot.  
  
_There we go!_ she silently cheered, but maintained her calm and detached mask. "Master?" she asked politely and bowed.  
  
"It is time for your first lesson - and no, we're not getting started with Leopard style just yet." Master Shifu was standing next to a pile of rectangular wooden boards, each roughly cut to a size of about half a foot by one foot. There was also a smaller pile of wooden spacers next to it. "Can you imagine what I have in mind?"  
  
Tigress frowned deeply - she was pretty sure she recognized these boards. _Breaking. We're doing breaking tests?_ She picked up one of the boards, forcing herself not to answer hastily. _This is something new. A special lesson. One of three reasons why he apparently took me here. There is more to this than meets the eye... but what is it?_ Tigress knew that her Master was not fond of breaking - the act of shattering a stack of wooden boards or stone slabs, usually with a hand or foot - because he regarded it as pure flashiness with a slight risk of injuring one's limb. Sure, he did occasionally use wooden boards as targets, but those were usually cases where he would hang one or two boards at precise spots instead of just building a visually impressive stack, and even then, he tended to encourage touching instead of breaking. _And yet here we are, with a suspiciously large pile of boards that look just the right size for breaking. Color me confused - we both know I can break a stack of pretty much any size, even one made of stone slabs. I have strength and speed on my side, so this seems extremely pointless!_ "...I give up," she finally conceded and threw the board back onto the pile.  
  
"We're doing breaking tests!" Master Shifu announced and smiled. The smile widened when he saw her expression of disbelief. "Questions so far?"  
  
_Don't do it, girl. He's baiting you. Don't say it. Don't say it. It's a trap._ "Yes, Master. I can already do breaking tests, so what's the point?" _Drat._  
  
"Wonderful, then this will only take a few minutes!" her Master cheered and rapidly built a small stack of seven boards, with two spacers underneath each. "Let's just do two quick tests and then we can move on to the next technique. Break these, please."  
  
_Really? Just those? I could break those with just my pinkie if I had to. Is it a trick?_ Tigress raised an eyebrow and eyed the stack. _Only one way to find out._ She stood in front of it and took a deep breath. It was a simple exercise, sure, but that was no reason for her to just jump at the task like a rookie. _Knowing my luck, these things are reinforced, and Master Shifu is waiting for me to break my hand like a cocky idiot._ She brought her hand above the stack and spent a few seconds visualizing the strike. Another deep breath... and then, with one short shout and little fanfare, her hand broke through the seven boards with practiced ease. _There. Easy._ She stood up straight and gave her Master a short bow, trying hard not to look smug.  
  
"Ahh, splendid, nothing to criticize!" Master Shifu praised her. Then he swept the broken boards aside and assembled another stack of seven boards. "Again, please?"  
  
_Sure, I can do this all day._ Tigress could barely contain her smirk as she stepped up to the stack again.  
  
"Oh," the red panda interrupted her and chuckled as he tapped the side of his head, "almost forgot - just break the third board this time."  
  
Tigress froze. _...what?_ "What?" _WHAT?_ She leaned down and looked at the stack of seemingly identical boards. "Break... just... the third board?" She stood up again and gave her Master a look. "Really?"  
  
"You told me you can already do breaking tests, Tigress," Master Shifu told her, his mischievous smile only visible in his eyes. "Are you telling me you aren't even capable of breaking a single board?"  
  
Her mind was racing. _This is a set-up. A trick. This isn't about breaking. It's about thinking outside the box. Right?_ "Am I allowed to take it out of the pile and-"  
  
The red panda gasped in feigned shock. "Tigress, that would _cheating_!" After exchanging looks with his student, he wagged his finger and smiled. "No, you're not allowed to disturb the stack like that. Cute idea, though."  
  
_Was worth a shot._ Tigress slowly scratched her chin as she assessed the problem. Panic gave way to cool calculations, and she started to see the outlines of her lesson. _Can't smash through it, so I have to stop on the first board, unless I go with-_ She looked up. "Do I have to do this in a breaking strike? Top to bottom?" When her Master nodded, she frowned. _Okay, so no precision striking from the side. So if I stop at the first board... then what? That board either breaks, or it doesn't. If it does, I lose. If it doesn't... then nothing else is going to happen, and I lose. This doesn't make sense._ "I... don't see the solution, Master," she finally admitted before an idea struck her: _Is this even possible? What if it's not?_ "Could you maybe show me what you had in mind?" _Yeah, let's see_ him _do it!_  
  
Master Shifu shook his head and sighed dramatically, but Tigress could tell it was an act. "Oh well, I suppose I can show you how to break a simple wooden board." He positioned himself in front of the pile, jumped up to even see the top the pile, then brought down the side of his hand in a rather soft strike while in mid-air.  
  
The third board cracked in half.  
  
_What._ Tigress's eyes went wide, and she bowed down to inspect the stack. True enough, no other board showed any sign of damage. "I-... What-..." she stammered in her best Po impression, gesturing between the wooden boards and the smug red panda. _He transferred force... somehow... through several identical boards and thin air? ...no, wait. There is no way this is possible. This is a trick. Right?_ "Is there a trick?" she heard herself ask, her mouth once again working when it _really_ wasn't supposed to.  
  
Master Shifu chuckled. "A trick? You mean that the third board had been rigged? Fascinating, but easily disproven. You can assemble the stack yourself and point to any board you want to see broken."  
  
_Of course it's no trick. Let's not make yourself look like a complete dork._ She forced herself not to grab boards from the pile. _But then... how does it work?_  
  
Realizing that there would be no further protest for the time being, Master Shifu casually jumped onto the stack to address Tigress at eye level. "I know you have questions, so let me address a few of them before outlining your training plan for the next few days." Tigress stood straight, hands clasped behind her back. "This technique is not about strength or speed. You are a natural master of those, and there are not too many techniques I can teach that would improve them."  
  
_Then what_ is _this technique about?_ she asked silently, even though she had a vague hunch by now.  
  
"I won't go into details before you have given this some thought yourself, but I will tell you the story behind it." He ignored her quiet groan - it was no secret that Tigress was no fan of the lore... and maybe of stories in general. "A long time ago, there was a Master who is nowadays known simply as the Master of Gentleness." He paused to read her expression. When he saw that she apparently had never heard the name, he smiled. "The Master of Gentleness was a Kung Fu practitioner with his own school. Highly talented, and one of the few foxes to learn the art, though many criticized him for being too focused on winning tournaments and challenges."  
  
_A fox not just learning, but apparently even mastering Kung Fu?_ Tigress raised an eyebrow. _Curious._  
  
"They say that, after a spectacular tournament defeat, he retreated into his room for fifty years to meditate." When he noticed Tigress's look, he simply shrugged. "It's a legend; some exaggeration is to be expected. Anyway, when he returned to the public eye, he had altered his style a little bit. Nothing major, to everybody's surprise, just a few gentle strikes and a couple of equally gentle flips and throws. If anything, it seemed that his style had become much weaker than before, bordering on light sparring."  
  
"But he started to win again?"  
  
"He went undefeated for years." Master Shifu smiled when he caught her looking from him to the pile of boards and then back to him. "Go ahead and ask," he encouraged her.  
  
"He won... because of this?" His smile widened, and Tigress knew that she had perfectly played along with her Master's script. _Which means that there will be no simple, straightforward answer._  
  
"When you grasp the answer to that question, you will know you have fully mastered the technique."  
  
_Well, that was even more cryptic than expected._ Tigress frowned. _And shouldn't it be the other way around? When I master the technique, I can probably answer the question. ...right?_ "So you are giving me a pile of wood and fifty years in the hopes that I will master a technique that I have seen once?"  
  
"As I said when we arrived here, I don't intend our stay to be _quite_ so long." Master Shifu tilted his head, as if in thought. "Knowing my luck, Tai Lung would declare me dead after a year or two and take over as Grand Master of the Jade Palace."  
  
"As if he'd wait that long." Tigress replied coolly, but then decided not to push the issue further than that. "So you will let me meditate and figure out the fundamental concept before you elaborate?"  
  
"This is going to be your first lesson in the truly advanced techniques. These techniques will often challenge your perception of how the world operates on a fundamental level. Things like the Wuxi Finger Hold work on different principles than the mere physicality of your own style, and you need to embrace the more spiritual side of Kung Fu if you intend to master them."  
  
She gave him an amused smile. "A simple yes would have sufficed."  
  
"Tigress." He sighed dramatically, though she could see a hint of a smile. "There will come the time when you will have students of your own. And then you will realize that being allowed to give fancy speeches is one of the few perks of the job."  
  
"So you just like to hear yourself talk. And here I thought that you were doing this for the greater good. Preserving the art, blah, blah, blah." She crossed her arms and smirked.  
  
"Lying to bratty and naive students is another perk," Master Shifu informed her with a wide grin. It had probably been a long time since he had been able to freely engage in banter. "Besides, everybody knows that I'm only in it for the money."  
  
"The great Grand Master Shifu shows his true colors!" Tigress exclaimed in mock outrage, then chuckled. "You weren't kidding when you said my perception of how the world works would be challenged..."  
  
He waved her along with a smile. "Well see how much you'll be laughing once you realize what I intend to teach you here." The smile widened when he saw her frown. "Now get started - you have a lot of thinking and meditating to do."  



End file.
